Manticore Kid
by Laila Lucine
Summary: Follow Hannah through her life, that of a daughter of two X5s. Will she be able to stay out of Manticore when Lydecker so desperately wants to capture her.
1. Manticore Kid Part 1

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, Zack and Lydecker and Hannah Sr. aren't mine, so basically you don't get to really meet my characters until the next part. Hannah Jr. is mine, please don't steal her with out asking me to borrow her.  
  
MANTICORE KID?  
  
IN THE HOSPTITAL  
Max lay in the crinkly, white hospital bed, her dark hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. Zack bent down and kissed her forehead as a nurse handed her a small, wrinkled, red faced, baby girl. Max looked down at her and felt all the pride and happiness that its possible to feel.   
"What should we name her?" She asked Zack as her stroked her hair.   
"Lydecka?" He teased, smiling one of his perfect smiles.  
"Ugh, never." Max shot, but also smiling happily.  
"How about Gina?" Zack asked smiling sadly.  
~A bit too sadly.~ Max thought to herself.  
"No, I think we'll name her Hannah. After the woman who saved my life in more than one way." Max also smiled sadly remembering the woman who had helped her escape and then had saved her from a life of questions.  
"I like that, Hannah." Zack repeated placing one hand on top of Max's head and one on Hannah's.  
1 YEAR LATER AT LOGAN'S  
"Happy Birthday dear Hannah, Happy Birthday to you." Logan sang as he looked down at the smiling blond haired child on his lap. Her hair had already grown so long that it tumbled down her back in small golden ringlets and her bright lavender eyes were set off by it in an eerie way.  
He tickled her tummy, smiling sadly as he remembered how Max used to tickle her. It still brought tears to his eyes to think of how she had died, she and Zack had been trying to locate Leigh, another Manticore Original, when Lydecker caught them and killed them. Logan still couldn't figure out why Lydecker had killed them, his only thought was that he knew they wouldn't obey him any more. Any way Max had been killed and he had adopted Hannah, putting her under his last name of Kayle even though he didn't want to.  
Hannah reached up with her chubby hand trying to grab his glasses.   
"No Han." He told her still smiling sadly.  
"Daddy." She giggled reaching up again as he let go of her arm.  
"No Han." He repeated, but this time not because of her reaching hand.   
He wheeled them over to the computer desk and picked up two small pictures that lay there side by side for this very reason. One was of Max holding Hannah while Zack stood with his arm around Max's shoulders and the other was of Logan from back when he hadn't needed this cursed wheelchair to get around. He pointed at Zack and spat fairly bitterly.  
"This is daddy." He felt his old feelings of resentment rising to the surface, Max could have been his, if only, but no that was in the past and he couldn't change it, better just not to let Hannah down. He pointed at himself in the other picture. "This is Uncle Logan." He crooned sweetly.  
"Lodan." She repeated placing her hand on the picture of him and giggled smiling merrily evidently pleased with herself.  
"Yes Han, Logan." Logan tweaked her chin smiling, but still with an edge of gloom, that didn't last long. The next moment the door burst open and in the next few seconds Logan and Hannah were surrounded by men dressed in all black and carrying guns. Logan tucked the pictures carefully into Hannah's pocket. Hannah started to cry and Logan held her, smoothing her hair and stroking her back, trying to get her to calm down, but stopped for a moment as Lydecker strolled casually into the room.  
"Well, Logan." Here he paused. "And the child." He turned to his men and signed something. Two of the men moved in on Logan, one with his gun pointed at Logan's head, the other man took Hannah from his arms. Hannah started to cry even louder than before. Lydecker apparently fed up motioned his men out the door quickly, he and two men stayed behind.  
"Lodan, Lodan!" Logan heard Hannah screaming as they rushed her off down the hall and he knew that he had failed her too.  
"Logan, Logan, Logan." Lydecker clucked pacing in front of him. "You made it too easy. Now I've got three soldiers to start me off and two of them Zack's."   
"Two?" Logan shot at him resentfully.  
"Yes two, he also mated with 52773-27327 when I commanded him to, however she did it voluntarily. She was the only one who came back to me willingly, I had to recruit Zack."  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm officially lost. Who is she?" Logan asked.  
"Oh that's right, I keep forgetting that you don't know their numbers. Very well, she, is... what was it they called her?" He puzzled out loud. "Gina, I believe was her nickname."   
"Wait you said something about recruiting Zack. What was that about?" Logan queried wanting to hear something bad about Zack, wanting to hear something that would make Zack seem even worse than before.   
"Every now and then I'd have him work for me on a project, finding another kid, bringing in one of the originals, you know the norm. After all he was MY killing machine!" Lydecker announced surely.  
"Was he going to turn Max in?" Logan asked praying for Lydecker to say yes, yet another reason to hate Zack.  
"No, he defied me that time, but I punished him for it, and now he's dead." Lydecker didn't even flinch as he said this, just stated it like cold hard facts. Logan had an idea.  
"Who are the other kids? I already know you have my Hannah."  
"Oh, Hannah, what a quaint name. Let me guess you thought it up? No wait it was Max wasn't it?" Lydecker toyed with him.  
"Yes, Max." Logan answered, but more to hear the name again than to answer. "Who?" He shot again trying to force Lydecker to answer.  
"Well, you're not to be detoured are you? One by 52773-27328 and 52773-27327, one by 52773-27329 and 52773-27328, and one by 52773-27326 and 52773-27331. Or for your benefit one by Zack and Gina, one by Max and Zack and one by Bren and Evan."  
"Aren't you going to name the kids?" Logan questioned, already knowing the answer.  
"Hannah won't be Hannah anymore if that's what you're asking." Lydecker replied.  
"What will Hannah be?"  
"41551-71220."  
"That's not a name that's a bar-code!" Logan cried out.  
"Precisely. Now I'm going to kill you and leave. Any objections?"   
"No." Logan replied calmly.  
Lydecker pulled out a revolver and shot Logan. Logan slumped forward and fell out of his chair.  
"Lets go." Lydecker told the last of his men gruffly walking out the door, leaving Logan lying unconscious and bleeding, but not dead, on the cold hard floor.  



	2. Manticore Kid Part 2

Disclaimer: Hannah, Aren, Laila, Dane and Kerry are mine, so is Broodus and all the other little characters. Lydecker, Logan, Zack and Max aren't mine, neither is the song "The Rose" get over it.  
12 YEARS LATER at MANTICORE  
Hannah looked down the cold metallic hallway dreaming of a way out. She hated this place and Lydecker, not to mention his odious nephew Broodus. She knew there were people out there; after all she still had the pictures. She leaped back to her bed and pulled from under the pillow the two mysterious pictures that she'd had since she could remember. One was of a single man and on the back was printed in neat writing Logan Kayle, but the other picture was of a man, woman and baby, and on the back was written in a careless scrawl, Zack, Max and Hannah. She had decided long ago that she must be the baby and therefore Hannah, and the woman must be her mother, Max, and the man her father, Zack. She looked over at where Kerry slept, her dark red hair in a light fuzz on top of her head and her dark brown eyes closed, unaware that Hannah was still up at one am dreaming of her parents. Hannah still remembered the night that she had asked Lydecker where she had come from. He had looked scared, but the next night he had slipped her a book entitled "Mommies, Daddies and Babies." She reached under her bed and pulled out the small chest that held all her belongings, except the pictures. She lifted the lid and reached under her winter sweater and pants and then under her summer dress and shorts to pull out the small, worn out book. She stared at the cover for a moment, it was in the same pose as her picture but she thought hers looked better, less posed. She sat staring at the picture for an hour, dreaming of being in the woman's arms and having them both looking down at her and smiling.  
~Click, click, click.~ She was pulled out of her trance by footsteps coming down the hall towards the room.   
~Damn, the guard.~ She thought to herself quickly shoving the chest back under the bed and burrowing under the covers, leaving her head out so he wouldn't come and lift the covers, if he did he would find the pictures and book.  
The guard walked in seconds after she closed her eyes, he walked down the middle aisle between the beds, past Laila and Dane and then back on the other side past Kerry, Hannah and finally Aren. Satisfied that they were all there he turned out the door and down another cold metal hall.  
~Click, click, click.~ She heard his footsteps get quieter and quieter as he got farther and farther away.  
She sat up again and looked around the room. Dane's covers had fallen off again, Hannah slipped out from under her covers and snuck stealthily over to his bed. His hair was growing faster than the others and had a natural wave that was starting to show, she reached down and slipped her hand through it to get it out of his eyes, admiring its sandy brown color. Dane was almost the youngest of them at twelve, Laila was eleven and the youngest, Kerry was fifteen, Aren fourteen and Hannah was the middle child at thirteen, she'd had to pump Lydecker for that information, but still didn't know her birthday. Hannah pulled Dane's covers up over him again and leaned down to kiss his forehead, he stirred but didn't wake up, he had always been bad at that and Lydecker often punished him for it.   
Hannah moved over to Laila's bed tucking the covers under her chin. She wished she could see Laila's hair grown out, it was such a pretty golden brown color and Hannah knew that it would probably shine if it were longer. Hannah's own hair was tiny dull blond curls on top of her head and she'd have given anything to have hair like Aren's. His was a dark raven color that looked perfect his pale blue eyes. Hannah moved over to Aren's bed and looked down at his sleeping body, she sat down on his bed. She sat like that for a minute or so and then lay down beside him, dreaming of him putting his arm around her. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, his arm reached up and pinned hers behind her back. He woke slowly but as soon as he realized that it was her he let go of her arm and his face took on a concerned look.   
"Are you alright Han?" He asked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Then he realized that she was in his bed. "Hey, what are you doing in my bed?" He asked this time curiously.  
"I couldn't sleep." Hannah fibbed, she had always been different from the others, she had never really needed to sleep, she just did because the others did.   
"Oh." He replied laying back down and lifting the covers for her to scoot under. She did and he held her close to him, out of impulse she started singing. It was the only song that she knew but she couldn't remember where she had learned it.  
"Some say love, it is a river that drowns the tender reed. Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed. Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, and you it's only seed." She finished and Aren looked at her, his arm around her, he just lay and stared. "Aren don't look at me like that." Hannah whispered feeling embarrassed.  
"You're really pretty Hannah." He told her holding her tighter.  
"Aren, get your eyes checked, besides you've got Kerry." She told him laughing.  
"I don't want Kerry and she hates me anyway." He told her. They lay talking for hours before Aren fell asleep and Hannah joined him in slumber. They woke only a little while later to Lydecker's shouts.  
"41551-71220, 41551-71219 get up!" First Hannah and then Aren was called out of bed by Lydecker's angry shouts. "41551-71219 down and give me two hundred and fifty." He shouted at Aren. "41551-71220 down and give me two hundred." He yelled at Hannah, using the full code to make them know that he meant business. "18, 21, and 22 get up and go shower." Kerry, Dane and then Laila got up and headed for the showers as their number was called, he wasn't mad at them and so took off the 41551-712 only calling the last two numbers in the code.   
Hannah dropped to the floor and lay for a moment before starting in on her punishment to get it over with. She pulled off her two hundred in about a minute and then jumped up ready to hop into the shower and then get into some nice warm clothes.   
"20 what are you doing?" Lydecker barked coldly.  
"Going to shower sir." She answered meekly even though she would have liked to spit in his face and walk away or do anything to defy his power.  
"No you're not, not until you've run the track fifteen times." He told her sourly, but shortening her code too. "Broodus take her out to the track and make sure she runs it the full number, no slacking." He instructed his nephew. Broodus quickly had Hannah by the arm and was leading her out the door.  
"You can't make her run in her nightgown! It's freezing outside!" She heard Aren yelling at Lydecker and then she was being led out of hearing range. They arrived on the track and Aren was right it was cold, but her body adjusted to it quickly as she ran, feeling her leg muscles unwind. She ran around the track faster and faster feeling the wind on her face. This was the only time she felt free. Running was something that gave her power and it got out her frustrations at Lydecker and Broodus and sometimes even at Kerry. When she ran she could throw all of her problems to the wind that raced by her, it was sort of like cleaning the attic. Then she could fill her head with better thoughts, of finding her parents or Logan, but other times she just let her mind go blank. Before she knew it her laps were over, but she had been thinking while she ran, if she wanted to find her parents or this mysterious Logan Kayle guy she'd have to get out of here first, by the end of her run she had devised a plan and all she needed was Aren for it to work.  
That night she slipped out of bed again and over to Aren's, this time she restrained herself from kissing him and instead poked him in the ribs, and letting him grab her arm again. It took him less time than before to wake up and find out that it was her. When he did he lifted the covers but she shook her head and started signing her plan for escape in their secret code. When she was done he nodded and signed that they would have to take the others or at least try to. Aren went get Laila and Dane up to tell them the plan and Hannah went to get Kerry, even though she was silently wondering if they could just leave her behind, she was a good fighter though and she didn't like Broodus much. When they had all gathered in the middle Aren signaled for Hannah to tell her plan and again Hannah signed her plan. At the end everyone decided to go, but Kerry was reluctant, Hannah thought of just letting her stay, but knew her life would be miserable if they did. They decided that the escape would be in exactly a week, enough time for Aren to rustle up some wire cutters, food and weapons.   
It was a week later, exactly. That night they would escape or at least try to. Hannah lay in bed waiting for midnight, she had a great sense of time, at exactly twelve O six the guard would come to check on them. Their plan was to stop him when he came. That way he wouldn't be able to report them missing later on. The clock in her mind rang twelve and Hannah slipped out of her bed. She already had on her dark black sweater and dark black pants and she had her boots ready to go for after they took out the guard, she liked to fight without shoes, it gave her a sense of freedom. She started toward the door feeling the stiffness in her muscles. They had done underwater training that day and her muscles were slightly sore from lack of oxygen. She refused to let that stop her, she was going to get out of here, tonight! She poked Aren this time drawing her hand away quickly and he woke immediately. They both arranged their pillows to look like people and then they each took a side of the door.   
~Click, click, click.~ There were the normal footsteps. She stood ready to spring on the guard as soon as he entered the room. He came in and before Hannah could even move Aren had sprung onto his back and snapped his neck. They dragged him over to Laila's bed and stuffed him under then they woke the rest of them up. Hannah slipped into her boots and they all headed off down the hall with Hannah also carrying a small black bag equipped with enough food for a few nights and some wire cutters, and Aren and Kerry carried small guns. Aren guided them down the silent halls and out a small door that none of them had ever seen before. They made their way carefully toward the woods, that surrounded the place, in pairs. First Hannah and Dane, then Kerry and Laila made it across, but something went wrong. Alarms started going off and before they knew it Aren was fighting Lydecker, no one even knew where he had come from. Kerry joined the fray leaving Laila crying behind a tree. Hannah led Dane over to the tree and left him with Laila turning to the fray just in time to see Kerry get knocked down. Hannah rushed to the fray and flung herself at Lydecker. Lydecker, not expecting that attack, fell backwards and before he could move she kicked him hard in his face. There was a sickening crack as his head flung back and hit the concrete side of the building and then blood was flowing all over the newly fallen snow, turning it a sickening scarlet color. Aren quickly led her and Kerry away from the mess, but Kerry pulled loose and shot Lydecker.   
"Kerry he's already dead." Aren told her leading her away yet again. This time Kerry came. They all made their way to the fence, which was surprisingly, close here. Aren had no doubt planned this. Hannah quickly pulled out the wire cutters and Kerry cut a clumsy hole for them to slip out of. They ran for hours dodging the spotlights from the helicopters. It was almost dawn when they outran them. The helicopters turned back, but they pressed on, they finally arrived at a small cabin. Aren crept up to it and found it empty. They all crowded into it and Hannah collapsed onto a small couch, breathing hard and feeling sick. Aren dropped to the floor beside her concerned.   
"Han? You ok?" He asked, he had never seen her like that before.  
"Yah." She said sitting up and laughing out loud. "We made it!" She giggled. "We made it!" She repeated, but she felt quite light headed.  
"Yah but we can't stay here." Kerry shot at her.   
"Kerry's right, they'll come looking on foot soon enough." Aren told her.  
"Well then we'll have to keep moving." Kerry stated and then Laila jumped in with something they hadn't even thought of.  
"Will they be able to organize that well with Lydecker dead?" She spoke in a small wispy voice, but it was enough to get her point across. There was a pause as they all thought and then Laila and Dane got up and wandered off to explore the cabin.  
"Well we could risk it, after all Broodus isn't all that good at managing them, we should have a few days of relative safety before we have to get out of here." Hannah argued.  
"Well I'm willing to risk it." Aren decided.  
"Sure I might as well too." Kerry agreed in what sounded like her normal grudging tone. That's how she always sounded when she talked to Hannah and Hannah had always wondered why Kerry hated her so much.  
Dane and Laila had already made their way around the cabin and now they came back to the main room to reveal their finds.  
"There's a bathroom over there, and two bedrooms, one there and one there." Dane reported pointing to where each was as he said it.  
"There's a computer in that bedroom too." Laila put in. "And a kitchen over there." This time Laila pointed to it and for the first time Hannah noticed a small door just off to the side of the fireplace that the couch was in front of. Lydecker would have killed HER if he knew how unobservant she was being right now. But she really shouldn't be thinking about Lydecker, she told herself, after all he was now dead himself. Hannah stood up and wandered over toward where Laila said the computer was and there was indeed a nice I-mac computer sitting on a dark hardwood desk. She ambled over and turned it on feeling a little faint from all the excitement. She sat down in the office chair quickly not trusting herself standing on her flimsy legs. She waited fairly swooning while the computer booted up and finally she found what she had been looking for, the internet. There was one thing she had always been good at besides running, computer technology. She quickly hacked into this person's account and was soon cruising the web looking for Logan Kayle. Maybe he could help her find her parents.  
The computer pulled up two Logan Kayles and she clicked quickly on one of them as Aren came into the room and stood behind her. The computer took a moment to pull up this particular file and when it came up a picture started forming, a picture that was too familiar. A picture of a man with dark hair and dark eyes, a man standing and smiling, and she knew with out a doubt that this was the Logan Kayle she wanted. She let out a quick yelp that was supposed to be of triumph before she fell herself fall out of the chair and then lost consciousness.   
She woke up in a bed. The covers were drawn up to her chin and as she sat up slowly they fell back to reveal her small black spaghetti strap top. This particular top showed that she was very well endowed, she had decided it was in the genes. As soon as she was fully up Aren was there.  
"Heard you moving." He mumbled as he sat down.  
"Need, computer, now, Logan, Seattle." Hannah babbled.  
"Lay back down, we shut the computer off. You're fine now. It's gone, whatever it was that was scaring you is gone." Aren tried to comfort her.  
"No!" Hannah shouted. "Need the address. Logan." Again she started babbling. Then she took a few deep breaths. "I need Logan Kayle's address. He can help me find my parents and maybe yours."   



	3. Manticore Kid Part 3

Disclaimer: Logan, Max, Zack, Lydecker, Bren, and Cindy aren't mine. Mike, Hannah, Aren, Kerry, Laila, Dane, Broodus, Marie and other little people are mine so don't use them without asking me first (I'll say yes, just ask). Also in part two of Manticore Kid I forgot to tell you that the song The Rose is not mine, I don't know whose it is but it's not mine.  
A/N: Kysaria is a real book or at least I hope it will be, it's a novel that I'm writing so if you see that in originals read it. My friends tell me it's pretty good, but I'm not sure. Thanx for reading MK, if you review it I'll love you forever!! Thanx!!  
  
THREE DAYS LATER BY A HIGHWAY  
Hannah and the others crouched by the road waiting for the truck to come in range. Finally Aren gave the signal and they all jumped onto the back, the truck driver, impervious to the fact that they had climbed aboard, kept driving and it wasn't long before they were miles from the cabin. It was night when they pulled into the lot of a dingy, run down motel and stopped. When the truck was slow enough they jumped off one at a time and slunk into the shadows and to the back of the motel. Aren told the others to stay there, pressed against hard wood of the building while he slunk around looking for an empty room to break into. He came back a half an hour later and signaled that there was an empty room on this level and he had broken the lock on the sliding glass door so that they could get in. They all made their way to the place where he signed and found that he had indeed found them a place to stay. Laila and Dane, exhausted from the day, fell onto one of the king sized beds and Kerry walked over to the bathroom to freshen up while Hannah went to the tiny mini kitchen (apparently this was a nicer room than most) she scouted for some bowls so that she could make up a can of the soup they had brought from the cabin. She found some small plastic bowls and cups in a cupboard above the sink and some plastic spoons and forks in a small drawer to the side of the sink. She found a small beat up pot under the sink and set about making up a can of Veggies and Stars soup.   
By the time the soup was done Kerry had fallen asleep on the large couch in the corner, Laila and Dane had fallen asleep in the one bed together and Aren was writing something on a piece of paper at the small table. She took him a bowl of soup and a spoon and he nodded thanks without looking up. Hannah sat and ate her own soup silently. When she had finished her soup she walked over to the one remaining bed and crawled in quietly. It was a few minutes later when Aren too finished his soup and the next thing she knew, there he was in bed with her. He held up his arm and she scooted closer to him, burying her face in his hard, firmly muscled chest. He held her to him smoothing her back and it wasn't more than three minutes later that Hannah fell asleep in his arms.   
It was morning when she woke and found everyone already up and awake and she too quickly got up and carefully made the bed. Everyone was eating fresh bananas and she had the feeling that Aren had been out "scouting" that morning. Aren handed her a banana and she couldn't help smiling when she saw the huge grin on his face, he was so like a brother, only more.   
They finished their breakfast quickly and made their way out the back door this time with a pot and some plastic bowls and spoons added to their pack and Kerry carrying it. They walked along the highway for a long time before finally coming to a Check Point. Hannah looked at Aren as though to say ~What now genius?~. But she didn't saw anything out loud. Aren led them off into the thin crop of trees by the highway's side and before long they were so far in that they couldn't see the highway meaning the people on the highway couldn't see them. They walked in the trees for a half hour and then Aren turned them back toward where the highway should be. They broke out on it far from the Check Point and the most challenging thing they'd had to do was climb over a ten foot fence topped with barbed wire, a piece of cake for them all, even Laila. Hannah looked around and spotted a sign, Seattle 20 miles away, it read. Hannah looked over at Aren and smiled nervously before turning toward the sign and starting to walk with everyone else following. It was around four in the afternoon when they arrived in Seattle. It was run down and dirty, nothing like they had thought it would be, but it was still magnificent. There were people everywhere and they were doing everything imaginable. There were carts with produce being sold and women talking animatedly to men, there were men fixing the side of a tall building and children running through all of them laughing and throwing around an old worn out, once red, ball. Hannah pulled a piece of paper from her right pocket and glanced at the address written on it. She glanced at the street sign and gave a sigh of relief as she realized that they were on the street that he lived on. She looked at the nearest building number and again at her paper.  
"It should be right down the street." Hannah commented looking around.  
She started off down the street and again they all followed her. They walked for about a half an hour before Hannah finally spotted the building that they wanted. She quickly assessed the situation and found that the door had a code to it. She didn't feel like figuring out the code, who knew how long it would take for someone to come along and type it in, so she counted the number of floors on the building. She looked at her paper and decided that the apartment must be on the top floor.  
~Damn it!~ She thought. ~I don't want to have to climb that.~  
She decided that she had to though. So she walked around to the back where there were small balconies and started climbing, her clothes blended well with the building. She made her way from balcony to balcony resting on one every now and then. Finally she made it to the top and looked in. There wasn't anyone in the room but as she looked at the mantle place she noticed a picture that caught her eye. It was the same picture that she carried, of her, her mother, and her father. Hannah quietly opened the glass door and slipped into the room. She made her way to the mantle place and picked up the large framed picture. She noticed several other pictures also, one was of a small little girl around the age of one, her hair fell in tiny ringlets down her back already long enough to cascade like a waterfall. She turned as the sound of a door opening caught her attention. She slunk behind another door and peered around the side a few moments before a man in a wheelchair wheeled into the room. He stopped in front of the mantel and then looked around with a scared look in his eyes.   
"Lydecker come out. I don't have Hannah but you can kill me anyway." The man spoke loudly and with conviction, but he caught her by surprise when he used her's and Lydecker's names. She stumbled a bit and he turned to look at the doorway where she hid. "Come out." He said slowly, and she did.   
"Didn't think you'd be in a wheelchair." She said as she stepped from behind the door into his view. "So you're Logan."   
"Hannah! Oh my god, Hannah! Is it really you?" He asked quietly after he finished screaming her name.  
"Yah. So how did you know Max and Zack and I?"  
"Call them Mom and Dad." He said kindly but there was an edge in his voice when he said dad.   
"Okay, how did you know my mom, dad and I?" She asked again.  
"I was a close friend of your mom's and I..." He paused and then shook his head. "You're not going to want to hear this standing up. Come on over here and sit down." He motioned to the couch and when she sat he wheeled himself over to in front of her.   
For a moment he just sat and looked at her, but she shifted quickly and he realized he was making her uncomfortable. He averted his gaze to the couch cushion for a moment and when he looked back at her there were tears in his eyes.   
"I adopted you after Lydecker killed your parents." He told her. "That's why I have your picture, and you still have mine." But he more asked her about his picture.  
"Yah, I still have them both. When did they die?"  
"You were five months old at the time."  
"How did you adopt me so fast?"  
"I have lots of connections." He replied and then he looked past her. "Friends of yours?" He asked and she looked behind her to see Aren, Kerry, Dane and Laila hovering in the doorway. "Come in, come in." Logan told them. "Sit I'll get you something to eat and drink." He said and then seeing Aren's alarm. "Or you can raid the fridge yourself." He offered. Aren seemed to be okay with this, so Logan directed him to the kitchen and left Hannah sitting on the couch alone while he made sure everyone got something to eat or drink.  
He came back while everyone looked around his apartment and parked his chair in front of her again.   
"Hannah I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but you had to be told." He offered as an explanation.  
"No it's okay. So what do I call you? Logan? Dad? Daddy?" She asked with the sound of tears in her voice.  
"You used to call me Lodan." He smiled slightly as he said this and then frowned. "Before I let you down."   
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.  
"I was there when Lydecker took you back to Manticore, he shot me to get you from me."  
"But you're still alive. And how did Lydecker 'get' me?" Hannah asked confused.  
"Yes I'm still alive, but my life from then on has been miserable. Answer your other question he came with lots of his men and took you, then he shot me. Thank god that Bling found me here an hour or so later and I hadn't lost 'too much blood' as the doctor told me. I was paralyzed before but after wards for a long time I was too weak to even wheel myself around. Hannah I missed you so much, after they took you..." But he stopped there afraid he was going to cry. She looked up at Logan and was suddenly dying to ask him all about her parents.  
"Can you tell me about my parents? Were they nice?" She asked.  
"Your mother, Max, was so sweet, but she had an edge to her that just gave off this magical essence. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it. Your dad was, well he was... I can't say anything nice about your dad." Logan finished.  
"Why?" Hannah asked.  
"Well you see..." Logan was at a loss for words. "When your mom was still alive, before Zack came along, I had..." He stopped again.   
"You liked my mom didn't you?"   
'Well I suppose that would be one way to put it." Logan replied. "Anyway you'll need to get some sleep and then we'll get you out of here. Lydecker will be after you and this will be one of the first places he'll look."  
"Oh, about Lydecker." Hannah eased out. "I killed him." Logan looked at her in amazement and then laughed.  
"Well then no need for you to leave. You can stay here. All of you." He waved his arm around to mean Aren, Kerry, Dane and Laila also.   
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Hannah cut. "See, he's got this nephew Broodus, who's kind of gonna take over for him. We figured we'd have about two weeks to disappear before he re organizes everyone."  
"Well then I guess I will have to find a place for you to stay." Logan said glumly as he started wheeling himself over to the phone.  
Hannah watched as he dialed a number and then they both waited as it rang.  
"Hey, it's Logan." There was a pause. "Yah its great to hear your voice, listen I have some friends who need a place to stay." This was followed by another pause. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But there are five of them, three girls and two boys." This was followed by another short pause and then Logan spoke again. "Well talk it over with Mark and then get back to me. Ok Cindy? Okay I'll talk to you then." Logan finished and hung up. He turned to face Hannah who had turned around and placed her right arm on the back of the couch. "Cindy's going to call me back in about a half hour. If Mark says you can stay with them we'll fly you to D.C. tomorrow and you'll stay there for a while. If that works out, who knows, maybe they'll even adopt one or two of you." Logan finished with pretended enthusiasm. "Well come on this way and I'll set you all up with rooms. Will a girls' room and a boys' room do?" Logan asked as they moved along the hallway.  
"That should work okay but do you think that instead of me being in a room I could just sleep on the couch?" Hannah asked. "I don't exactly want to share a room with Kerry. She'll just yell and taunt me."   
"What? Why?" Logan asked with a fatherly edge in his voice.  
"She just doesn't like me much. That's all." Hannah told him.   
"How old is Kerry?" Logan asked Hannah.  
"Fifteen." Hannah answered. "Then Aren is fourteen, I'm thirteen, Dane is twelve and Laila is eleven." Hannah added in case he had been wondering.  
"I think I know who their parents are." Logan told her. "We'll set you up in rooms and then we'll all meet in the living room, where you'll sleep." He added with a tint of distress mixed into his voice at the thought of Hannah sleeping on the couch.   
They walked down the hall passing two doors before coming to the last door on the left and turning in to find everyone in a circle on the floor with Aren signing to them. Hannah didn't catch any of it but she could tell that Aren must have been standing up for her or something like that because Kerry's face was even more clouded over than usual.  
"Okay first off I'm Logan." Logan announced when he had their attention. "Second I need your names, but let me guess first." He looked at Kerry and then around at Laila and Dane and Aren. "You're Kerry, you're Laila, you're Dane and you're Aren." He guessed them all correct, pointing at each person in turn. They all nodded in turn seemingly amazed that he could guess who they were, apparently they had been eavesdropping for part of the conversation and hadn't heard her describe them so they knew he was for real. Aren looked at Logan for another moment before speaking as though he were the leader of the group.  
"We'll stay for the night." Aren announced.  
"Okay if you all agree." Logan replied fairly taken aback by Aren's attitude. "We'll set Laila and Kerry up in this room and if Aren and Dane will follow me we'll put you in the room down the hall." Logan declared.  
Aren and Dane followed him out of the room and Kerry turned on Hannah.  
"What's he up to?" She spat.  
"Up to?" Hannah asked.  
"Yah, I mean he can't want something for nothing. Can he?" But she didn't really ask this last bit, she kind of laid it out there like it were a cold, hard fact.  
"He's my father." Hannah defended.  
"No he's the guy who adopted you after your parents died." Kerry shot back.  
"At least I had a father and mother who loved me. And then on top of that I had another guy willing to adopt me." Hannah retorted hoping to freeze Kerry's tongue. It didn't work.  
"In other words you were a charity case!" Kerry screeched.  
"No I wasn't! Anyway we have to get to the living room. Logan thinks he can find out who our parents are." Hannah turned on her heal and headed out the door with Laila trailing her quietly and Kerry storming behind them both like a cyclone in movement.  
They arrived in the living room and found Logan already there typing on the computer. Hannah went over and stood behind him bending down and leaning on the back of his chair placing her head on his right shoulder so that she could peer at the screen. Logan glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled.  
"I can't wait until your hair grows out again." He told her with cheer in his voice. He was very glad to have her back, he was overwhelmed with happiness that he had a second chance. This time he wouldn't let her down, he hoped.  
Logan finished what he had been typing just as Aren and Dane came into the room. Logan patted Hannah's arm to tell her he was going to move and she stood back up and walked over to the couch where she plopped down. A few moments later Laila and Dane sat down side by side next to her. Aren plopped into a large black armchair across from Hannah and stared at her coldly for a moment as though to say ~ I'm supposed to sit by you, you're mine. ~ And then there was a slight edge to his look, something that sent out a different message, a message more along the lines of. ~ How the hell do I protect you if you're all the way over there?!? ~ She held his gaze for a moment and then broke it off before guilt at leaving him in a chair secluded from them all decided to completely clutch her by the throat. Kerry stood in the doorway, too reluctant to sit down but not rude enough to walk away completely, besides she was fairly dependant on Logan now too. Logan scooted his chair back so that he could see them all and they could all see his face and then he looked down at the print outs he had in his lap.  
"Well Kerry. Do you want to know who your parents are and when your birthday is?" Logan asked Kerry as he realized she was still hovering in the doorway.  
"If you feel like telling me." She told him coldly.  
"Well then I'll do you last, when you finally sit down." Logan murmured the last part under his breath.  
"Fine I'll come back later." And with that Kerry took off down the hall towards the "girls" room.  
"Nice girl." Logan spoke up.  
"Oh well. Logan can you tell me my parents and birthday?" Laila asked.  
"Laila right?" Logan asked.  
"Yes."  
"Number?"  
"41551-71222." Laila told him somewhat gloomily. Hannah knew that Laila most out of all of them wanted to forget all about Manticore and have a normal life.  
"Your parents are Bren and Evan and your birthday is April tenth." Logan told her. "I remember the time that Max and Zack had to save Bren from Lydecker. Only they had to let Lydecker take her back if they wanted Bren to live, I'm glad they made that decision or else we wouldn't have known you." He said it as sweetly as possible. He really wanted them to all feel special and if he could do that by telling a small story to go along with the parent he would.  
"Really?" Laila asked him sounding like she was amazed that anyone would think that.  
"Really. You seem like a sweet girl." Apparently Logan had been dong some eavesdropping himself.  
"Thanks." Laila said happily. "Now do Dane's." She told him blushing and obviously trying to get the attention off of her.  
"Okay lets see number 41551-71221 right?" Logan asked Dane.  
"Yep." Was Dane's simple reply.  
"Lets see your parents are Kaitlin and Leigh." Logan told him. "I never met your father but he had to be a good guy for Max and Zack to want to save him."   
"Oh Logan that's right they were going to get Leigh on the night when..." Here she stopped herself as she realized that there were tears in Logan's eyes. "Oh Logan I'm sorry I didn't mean to."   
"No. Oh Hannah honey, no. Don't be sorry, there's nothing to be sorry about. What happened, happened and we can't change it."   
"I'm still sorry. There've just been so many problems." Hannah told him.  
"In life there are problems. Problems make a life. Life and problems go hand in hand." Logan told her.  
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Hannah asked him.  
"No I just thought you deserved to know the absolute truth." He replied smiling.  
"Thanks Logan now about Aren's parents and Dane's birthday." Hannah very unsubtly changed the subject.  
"Let's see, Dane's birthday is February thirteenth. Number 41551-71219 is Aren right?" He stopped and then saw Aren nod so went on. "You and Laila are full fledged brother and sister." Logan actually seemed amazed by this as though he were finding it out for the first time too.  
"You're not serious about that are you? We look nothing alike at all." Aren cut in.  
"It says you are right here." Logan calmly told Aren wheeling his chair over to him and showing the paper to Aren.  
"I believe you." Aren pushed the paper away angrily, but Hannah saw his eyes take mental note of the paper before he did so that he could dredge it up later from memory.   
"Good to know." Logan laughed quietly. "And in case you care your birthday is March fourth."  
"When's my birthday?" Hannah asked to get the tension out of the air.  
"July twenty fourth." Logan told her without looking down at the paper. Then he lifted his head and looked around. "Kerry." He called. In a moment they heard footsteps coming down the hall. She appeared in the doorway again and he motioned to the armchair on his right that was vacant. "I'll tell you your information as soon as you sit down."  
"Alright." She muttered gloomily crossing the room to the large, black leather chair. She flopped down in it glaring and waited for Logan to tell her the information that she wanted.  
"Well maybe if we could get at least a trace of a smile on that face." He murmured trying to get her to open up. She grimaced and he decided to just tell her, she obviously took after her parents whether she knew it or not. "Your parents are Gina and Zack." He announced without looking down at the paper and then he glanced down at it. "Your birthday is January twenty eighth. You and Hannah are half sisters." He tried to sound cheery but was he was having a hard time believing that his Hannah and this Kerry girl were related. He looked around the room. "Now down to some serious business. While you were in your rooms Cindy called me back. Mike says its fine with him if you stay with them for a few weeks and if that works out they might even adopt one or two of you." He smiled around at them all and was pleased to see both Laila and Dane's faces lit up.  
~Hopefully. ~ He thought. ~I haven't just raised their hopes for nothing. ~ He looked around at everyone again.  
"Hannah honey could you hand me my cell?" He asked Hannah pointing to the end table beside her where his cell phone was resting by a picture of Hannah as a baby. Hannah noticed that the frame it was in was the same color as her eyes and smiled as she picked up the phone. She leaned forward and handed it to him. He took it with a smile and dialed a number.  
"Hello, yes." He spoke after a moment or two of awkward silence as the phone rang. "I'm interested in an early afternoon flight to D.C. for tomorrow." He told the person on the other end. "Yes that will do. I'll need five tickets." He added.  
"Six!" Hannah whispered furiously. Logan looked at her and shook his head, but Hannah nodded hers vigorously. Again Logan shook his head and went back to the phone conversation.  
"Yes so tomorrow afternoon at one. We'll see you then. Thank you, yes goodbye." Logan looked up to find that Hannah and Aren were gone, but Laila, Dane and Kerry were still there and they were all looking at him.  
"You're not coming?" Laila asked.  
"I can't. It'll be too obvious if I disappear that I know something about you." Logan explained.  
"I just think that Hannah would like it if you'd come. After all you're the only family she has left, not to mention the only family she's ever known." Laila laid it all down on the table.  
"And." Dane added. "Broodus won't hesitate to kill you. He doesn't have the training and resolve that Lydecker had. Even if Lydecker was getting old he knew what he was doing. He might have hurt you but he wouldn't kill you in case we came back, which we might have to do. Broodus doesn't think that far ahead he'll shoot you in a heartbeat when he finds out you don't have us. Plus you know where we are. He'll be able to get it out of you." Logan looked at Dane curiously.  
"No offense." Kerry barged into the conversation. "I'm sure you mean well, but you're weak. I mean Lydecker got Hannah from you with no problem."  
"I'm crippled!" Logan shouted. "What did you expect me to do, knock them all out with my hands as I wheeled around in circles?" Logan asked them incredulously.  
"No, but now you have a second chance. Come with us. It'll make Hannah feel safer." Laila tried to send him on a guilt trip, she knew it meant a lot to Hannah to have Logan come with them, plus he seemed like a nice man and it would be really bad for them if Broodus did kill him, for more than one reason.  
"I can't go with you, but I will get out of Seattle. I'll go to Boston. My friend Marie lives there. It'll get me away from Broodus, but also from you. So I won't be in danger, but I also won't put you in danger." He tried to compromise.   
"That'll work." Hannah spoke coming around the corner back into the living room, her eyes were all red and puffy and he knew right away that she had been crying. Aren turned the corner also and placed his arm around Hannah's waist. Logan felt a tinge of fatherly concern, this boy had his arm around his daughter's, no excuse me, his adopted daughter's waist.  
"If you want to use the computer or watch the TV feel free. I'll be out on the deck." Logan said this with false confidence so that they all knew that he wasn't coming with them to D.C. He rolled himself out onto the deck where just about an hour before Hannah had crept up and seen the telltale picture that had led her to Logan.  
He parked by the edge and looked out over the broken city. Over twenty years in the depression and things weren't even close to being at poverty level. He jerked his attention from the busted skyline as he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
He turned to see if Hannah had followed him and saw Max. She shook her head at him before he could say or do anything.  
"Logan I miss you." She said and it even sounded like Max. "You know you're doing the right thing. You would have done the same thing if it were me who had shown up and not Hannah." Max reassured him.  
"Max, I wouldn't have. That's just the thing. I was selfish when Hannah was a baby, if I had let her go Lydecker wouldn't have gotten her. And if I hadn't kept you here that time in the hospital, then you wouldn't be..." Logan trailed off as tears filled his dark brown eyes and Max bent down and kissed him. It was better than the time at the cabin, it was as though the heavens were opening up and raining stars down around them. Logan didn't want to let go but Max pulled away. Max started to move her lips to talk but Logan cut in.   
"Just go." His gaze fell back onto the broken buildings around his apartment as the hand left his shoulder. He heard footsteps and then there was a slight shaking of his shoulder.  
"Max, just go." He repeated sadly.  
"Logan?" But it wasn't Max's voice it was Hannah's.  
He turned, startled back into reality. He looked into the concerned lavender eyes of his daughter. He figured Max would have wanted him to call her his daughter.   
"Oh, I'm sorry Han. I was just daydreaming." He explained to her as she drew her face back.   
"About my Mom?" She asked in a small voice.  
"Yes. I really did love her, and I like to believe that she loved me too. Hannah." He said seriously.  
"Yes, Logan."   
"Would you mind if I tell people you're my daughter?"   
"No, I'd like that. But Logan I'm not ready to call you dad." She countered.  
"That's alright, you just met me and for years you've thought of Zack as your dad. And really he is if you think about it. I think he really did love you, but Han, so do I."   
"I know Logan, but I'll need some time. You understand. Logan are you sure you can't come with us to D.C?"  
"Yes Han, I've got to make sure I don't let Broodus get you. And I can't do that when I'm with you. I need to be emotionally unattached until you're safe."  
"But what if I do get killed? I won't have gotten to know you!"  
"Hannah you will not get killed! None of you will get killed! I promise you!" Logan told her passionately.  
"You couldn't promise my Mom and Dad!" She threw back at him and then she stormed off the deck back into the...  
"Empty apartment?" Logan asked himself out loud. He shut his eyes and counted to ten and when he opened them he realized that he had been dreaming, again. He turned his chair around to see Hannah in one of the big, leather chairs reading a book. Aren was on the sofa watching TV, Laila and Dane were dancing around the room and even Kerry looked happy as she watched Dane swing Laila around. He saw Aren yell something at Dane and Dane and Laila collapsed on the floor laughing. Aren yelled something else and Logan saw Hannah start laughing uncontrollably. Kerry stood up and jumped on Dane and Laila, she started tickling them and before Logan knew it Hannah and Aren had joined in. They were a big squirming mass as he opened the door and then shut it quickly behind him. He laughed with them as he listened to their shrieks as someone scored on them. He rolled himself into the kitchen with their small screams following after him. He started getting things out of the fridge getting ready to whip up one of his "culinary miracles" like he used to do for Max. He remembered the night when Max had stayed at his house, there had been a brown out and then she had started having her seizures worse than ever. He had stayed with her and fretted al night, her seizures had almost killed her that night and he shuttered to think what would have happened if she had been out on the street when they had started. He wondered for a moment if she was happy looking down on them from heaven as he knew she was, but there had been times in her life that had been problem riddled, but as he had told Hannah. Life and problems go hand in hand. So he guessed Max got what she had wanted all along, a normal life.  
THE NEXT MORNING AT THE AIRPORT  
Logan looked at Hannah as they walked up to the ticket counter. He had run to the store and gotten them all new clothes for the trip and Hannah and the others looked completely normal, they all had on turtlenecks and all the girls were all wearing canvas hats.  
"Hello sir. May I help you?" Asked a tall blond haired woman with a toothy smile from behind the ticket counter.  
"Yes, I believe you can. My name is Logan, Logan Kayle. I'm here for my tickets, six to D.C. and one to Boston." He smiled up at her.  
"May I see some ID please sir?" She asked him politely. Logan reached into his pocket and drew out an old wallet, from it he pulled out his ID and as he did something fell from behind it, Hannah stooped to grab it and found that it was a picture. She didn't know why but she seemed to learn a lot from pictures, now she was learned that Logan and her Mother had really been more than friends. This picture had been taken in one of those really old photo booths that you used to find at malls or amusement parks, it had a border of roses with a banner at the bottom that read in large white on pink letters, THE PERFECT COUPLE, and in the picture itself Max and Logan were kissing apparently oblivious to the fact that the picture was being taken at all, and Hannah thought she saw a faint rose tinted glow in her Mother's cheeks.   
"That's from when your Mother and I dated." Logan supplied quickly. "You can take it with you if you want." He added, but it sounded forced, none the less Hannah slipped the picture into her small carry on bag's small pocket. Meanwhile the lady was looking over his ID card and when she found it satisfactory she handed it back to him along with a small packet of tickets. Logan picked them up and smiled at the woman who smiled back unenthusiastically. Logan rolled a little ways away from the counter and pulled out the tickets.  
"Well let's see, you're at gate twenty three and you'll be leaving in about twenty minutes and I'm at gate twenty five and I'll be leaving in fifteen or so. You'll just have to board without me." He smiled crookedly and he looked like he was covering his real feelings up. Hannah just smiled and then she bent down and hugged him impulsively, he hugged her back, surprised that she was hugging him after only one day. Then she did something even more amazing. He handed her the tickets and she took Aren's hand and they all started walking toward their gate but before they disappeared she turned around and called over her shoulder. "Bye Dad, I'll see you in a bit." She didn't know how he had felt about her calling him dad but it made her feel better to have someone that she could call dad.  
The next hour or so on the plane she spent brooding and sleeping curled up in her seat facing the window. They were in first class and she was woken up mid flight or so to eat the food that now in first class was as bad as it used to be in coach. She choked it down without knowing the difference and noticed that Kerry was listening to some CDs on a Discman that Logan had given her (he had gotten one for each of them) to take on the flight. Laila had curled up with a book, it looked like a mystery, Dane was listening to more CDs on his Discman, and Aren was reading a Goosebumps book. Hannah sighed quietly and then reached into her bag. She pulled out her Discman and a CD by someone named Dido. She put it in and listened to the rhythmic beat, it made her feel calmer and she loved the words to the first song. "Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want, but I can't hide." The music pulsed placidly and she leaned back and listened to the words for a while, then she reached into her bag again and pulled out a book, Kysaria, stated the title in large gold letters that turned silver part way through. She opened it and started reading and suddenly she was sucked into the world of Dawn and Eve. Before she knew it they were in DC and it was time to shut off her music, she had changed the CD three times, to Jewel and Alanis Morrisette and then to Jars of Clay. She packed her things away and got off the plane with the others.   
When they got to the terminal gate though the woman wouldn't let them leave without a "legal guardian" as she put it. So they sat and waited, Hannah listened to Dido again and finished another chapter in Kysaria before they saw a woman rushing toward them. For a brief moment she was scared that this was one of Broodus' people coming to capture them, but then she relaxed as the woman called out as she ran.  
"Don't worry Original Cindy's here." She came to a quick stop beside them.   
"Are you their legal guardian?" The stewardess looked skeptical.  
"No I'm an axe murderer here to kill them all off one by one. Of course I'm their legal guardian." She snapped and Hannah took an instant liking to her. "We'll be going now." And before the stewardess could ask for ID she turned on her heal and walked away leading them behind her. Hannah hurried to catch up to her.  
"Were you a friend of my Mom's?" She asked.  
"Her best." Cindy answered shortly.  
"Oh by the way about our bags," Hannah eased out and Cindy looked over at her. "We don't' have any. Dad sent money for clothes instead." Hannah informed her.  
"That works too, it'll give us an outing." Cindy replied passing over the dad in Hannah's sentence. "We'll go grab Mike in the car out front and head home."  
"Cindy."   
"Yes hon?"  
"Was my Mom nice?" Hannah asked quietly.  
"Yah, babe, your mom was great. She really knew how to live, she never even slept. I loved her to death, I mean." Cindy realized her slip.  
"It's okay I understand what you mean." Hannah assured her as they walked to the car that was waiting out front. It was slightly old and beat up but it was running and Cindy seemed amazed that it still was.  
They all got in and Cindy turned to face the man in the drivers seat.  
"Hit it big bro." She told him.  
"Sis I can't hit it, this car is delicate. It's just like a woman." Her brother replied calmly and nothing like Cindy, Hannah could tell they would be the perfect people to stay with.  
FIVE WEEKS LATER AT CINDY'S  
Hannah sat looking out the small window in her and Laila's homey blue and white bedroom. The house had been made to look like it was old, from back when DC was still the young nation's capital and it had four levels, the attic even had a slanted roof. She loved how it looked especially at night when the moonlight streamed in and over her bed through the same circular window that she was staring out now. She watched the busy people dashing about on the streets and wished that she was part of them. Her hair had already grown to just above shoulder length, she decided it must be in her genes, after all they had used to give them hair cuts once a week at Manticore. Now it was a wavy mass twisting over and under itself and shining in whatever light was present at the time. She sighed as she came back to the real world and decided to go down to dinner, already the sun was sagging in the red gold sky.  
She heaved herself up from the bed and slipped over to the hatch that led to the small stairway that led into the back of the upstairs hall. She poked her head into Dane and Aren's black and mahogany room and found it empty. She looked across the hall and saw Kerry's room, the door was open and she could see most of the yellow and green interior although Kerry was on her bed hidden from the view of the doorway. Hannah tentatively stuck her head into the room and found Kerry as she had suspected sprawled on her bed reading a book. Her checkered bedspread was mussed and the pillow had fallen to the floor beside the bed. There were books of all shapes, sizes and colors strew through the room and her dresser was littered with cosmetics and CDs that sat by her Discman, which looked as though it had just been dropped there haphazardly. Hannah frowned at the mess and then noticed clothes strewn around also, she knocked on the door frame quickly before she screamed at the mess, her own room was neat as a pin and she even resorted to cleaning Laila's side when so much as a hair tie was out of place. Kerry jumped startled and turned to glare at Hannah.  
"Whatcha reading?" Hannah asked innocently.  
Kerry spoke in a clipped and icy tone. "Little Women."  
"Oh well it's time for dinner." Hannah warned.  
"I'm not hungry." Kerry stated crisply.  
"But you might be later, remember Mike's rule, if you don't eat with the family you don't eat at all." Hannah cautioned.  
"I'm well aware of Mike's fucked up rules!" Kerry's voice cut through Hannah's bones like a chain saw.  
"Okay. Would you like me to bring you up anything?" Hannah tried to be hospitable.   
"You don't think I don't know you guys don't like me?" Kerry burst out suddenly. "I know you think I'm a bitch!" Hannah just stood for a moment wondering what to say. Finally she broke the awkward silence that had risen to choke them after Kerry's comment.   
"Kerry we don't think you're a bitch, you just aren't a people person. You're aloof is all." Hannah tried to sound convincing but inside she was dying to scream 'Yes you are a bitch, now come down to dinner damn it!' Instead she looked at Kerry complacently and spoke evenly. "These dinners mean a lot to Mike and Cindy and you want to make a good impression if you want to be adopted."  
"I don't want to be adopted. I want to live out in the world on my own without having to worry about anybody or have anyone else having to worry about me. I want to live free!" Kerry snapped.  
"Oh." Hannah replied and then her mind went blank, she didn't know how to respond to that, all she had ever wanted was a family. She wanted people to worry about her, people to worry about. "Well I'll see you after dinner." Hannah told Kerry. "I'll stop in and we can talk, after all we're half sisters."   
"Don't bother. We don't have to be friends just because we're sisters." Kerry told her condescendingly while turning back to her book. Hannah shrugged it off and walked down the hall to the main steps, but she was about ready to hit Kerry.  
THE NEXT DAY STILL AT CINDY AND MIKE'S  
Hannah sat in the bright and cheery kitchen watching Mike shell some peas that he had grown in a small garden outback. Kerry was in a generous sized armchair near the front door in the living room and Cindy was on the couch yelling at the man on the TV game show. Kerry was as usual engrossed in a book, this time a fantasy, A Spell For Chameleon by Piers Anthony, and didn't even look up as the front door burst open. Of course neither did Cindy, she had apparently thought it was just Dane, Laila and Aren coming back from the store with the chicken broth that Mike had sent them to get.   
But it wasn't sweet little Laila or innocent little Dane that burst in the door, it wasn't even the hot but cynical Aren, instead it was huge men dressed in all black and the leader was none other than Broodus. The men moved in on Kerry quickly and before she could fight they had hit her with a stun gun, well Hannah wasn't about to go out that way, she and Mike dashed out the back door, they rushed down the street toward the P&C the store that they had sent Aren and the others to. Hannah sprinted easily through the aisles in a blind panic trying to find them, where were they , could Brodus have gotten them. They had been gone for a while, but no there they were in the magazine aisle reading MAD. She grabbed Aren's arm and tried to talk but all that came out was a garble of sheer panic. He looked at her face and read most of her message, or at least the most important part of it.  
"Broodus?" Was all he asked and Hannah nodded her head quickly. Mike came up behind them.   
"Come on you guys, we have to get out of here." He told them in a remarkably calm voice.   
"I don't understand, we were so careful. How could he have found us after all our precautions?" Aren mused out loud.   
"I don't know, but let's go out the back, I used to work here, they'll let us." Mike suggested.  
"That sounds good." Hannah finally found her voice and made her way to the back of the store surrounded by the others. Her hair swung out behind her and her headband had become crooked. She wished that she had never been born, but no then she wouldn't have gotten to know the happiness that she had felt these past few weeks. After things had settled down at Mike and Cindy's they had all gotten along fairly well, with the exception of Kerry and now Kerry was gone. Taken by Broodus' men. Hannah bit her bottom lip so hard that it bled and Aren looked at her curiously before handing her an old fashioned handkerchief to stop it. Hannah pushed open the abnormally large doors to the back storage rooms and found herself met by more of Broodus' men. She tried to turn around but Mike was blocking them from getting out. And then there were hands trying to grab her, but she wasn't going out without a fight. She turned around and bitch-slapped the man who was holding her.  
"Can we say sexual harassment?" She asked him curtly before she flipped him over. "I don't have to take this." She quoted the line from a commercial that she had seen the other night while watching "Cooper Restivo in The Curse of the Mirror" on TV. Then she turned to the next guy in line. He looked her over warily and she stood her ground waiting for him to spring, she noticed his eyes seemed to be hovering over her shoulder and she quickly kicked behind her to hear Mike cry out in pain, she had obviously scored below the belt and above the knees. The man in front of her decided that with "back up" gone he'd have to fight her off now. He reached to pull out a stunner from his holder on his right hip, but she grabbed his arm and twisted it so that she was using him as a human shield. She took the stunner casually from him and pointed it out from behind him. There were only five more guys, one of which appeared to be Broodus, and another who was sitting in the driver's seat of a "get away/take away" car. Hannah shot three of them before they knew what hit them, but when she focused her attention to finding Broodus he had vanished, the car and driver with him. She turned again after snapping the neck of her "hostage" to find that Mike was still laying in agony on the concrete floor of the store, Aren, Laila and Dane had been knocked unconscious before they had even seen what was happening.  
"You dirty little rat!" She screamed at Mike. "You turned us in didn't you? You even helped them corner us, but you see I have a natural fight or flight instinct that you didn't know about, after all they did spice me up with some feline DNA. Speaking of feline DNA lets toy with you a little, she started stomping on his fingers, arms or whatever else was in range. He squirmed in agony and tried to roll away from her, but she just stopped him with her foot and went on kicking the shit out of him. She kicked him once more in the crotch and then focused on Aren and the others. Dane was already conscious again and she saw Laila stir gently as she walked over to sit beside them.   
"Normally I'd tell you to take it easy but right now we have to get the hell out of here!" She told Dane as he sat up slowly, groggily.   
"What happened? All I remember is coming in and having you turn around to go back out. Why'd you stop?" He asked curiously as though he were trying to put together a puzzle and couldn't find the last piece.   
"Mike turned us in to Broodus." She told him hoping the hurt didn't show in her voice as she feared it did. She tugged her turtle necked sweater up self-consciously making sure it covered all of her neck that her hair didn't. She didn't know what to do now. They'd have to wait for Aren to wake up before they could go anywhere and they still had to find out if Cindy and Kerry were okay. Just as she thought this Cindy burst into the back room with a guy who looked like the store manager.   
"Oh thank God you're okay!" Cindy cried falling down onto the ground beside Hannah and Dane and throwing her arms around Hannah. Hannah hugged her back.  
"Like wise." She told the near hysterical woman. Cindy held her at arms length and smiled at her for a moment and then she saw Laila and Aren lying on the hard floor as well as Mike.   
"Oh my goodness what happened? Why would Broodus just come and fight you and not take you? And why'd he torture Mike?" Cindy asked her in an extremely confused way that made Hannah tremendously sure that she wasn't part of the plan. Hannah shook her head and murmured sadly.  
"I'll tell you later, when we're actually safe." She added. "Mike's gotta go! Just trust me." She added at the puzzled look on Cindy's face. "Where's Kerry?" She added to detour the woman's questions.  
"Broodus' men took her and left they apparently didn't think I was worth taking." She threw in the last part with disdain.   
They heard a groan behind them and turned to see Aren coming back to reality. Laila and Dane were already standing up and better and even as Aren sat up the color was coming back to his face. Hannah scooted over to him quickly and threw her arms around his neck.  
"Thank God! We've got to get out of here. Mike turned us in to Broodus." Hannah was glad that the manager had moved directly to the back door and was expecting the damage with no regard for their health, it also helped that she didn't think he could speak much more English than "hi" or "bye" or "have a nice day". That was fine with her. Aren hugged her back and then let go quickly and started to get up. She got up too and they both moved into the clump of the others that had formed.   
"Lets go!" Hannah screeched at them as she and Aren merged with them.   
"Wait!" Cindy spoke authoritatively, stopping Hannah in her tracks. "Honey we are not rushin' out to get ourselves killed here! We've got to call Logan and find out where the hell to go, but for now we're going over to my boos house."   
"Your what?" Laila asked.  
"My girlfriend." She responded as she walked away quickly giving them no other choice than to follow or be left fairly helpless in a shop with a man who could barely speak English.  
"Okay then." Hannah whispered to Aren as they trotted after Cindy.  
"My thoughts exactly." He replied laughing and at that moment it was the best sound Hannah had ever heard.   



	4. Manticore Kid Part 4

Disclaimer: Logan, Original Cindy, Max, Zack, Brin, Lydecker and   
Hannah Sr. aren't mine. Hannah Jr., Aren, Kerry, Laila, Dane, Broodus,   
and Mike are.   
A/N: Sorry for calling Brin, Bren in P1, P2 or P3 of MK, I'm not even sure   
which part now, I found out I was calling her the wrong name like a day   
after I posted. Also if you ask I'll definitely let you use any of my   
characters, not that any of you care.  
  
THE NEXT WEEK BACK AT LOGAN'S IN SEATTLE  
Hannah was sprawled in front of the TV but she couldn't   
concentrate on the stupid comedy that was playing. She kept playing over   
the past few days in her mind.  
They had gone over to Cindy's girlfriend's house and from there had   
called Logan, then he had immediately called the airport to get them all   
tickets to meet him in Boston. They had met Marie and Hannah had liked   
the cheerful woman who didn't have a clue what was going on and had   
been all sun and light, in deep contrast to Logan who had been worrying   
the whole two days they had stayed there. Cindy had flown to Seattle to   
check and see if Broodus knew about Logan's place there.   
He didn't seem to and so they had all flown back there telling Marie   
that Hannah's aunt had died and they needed to go back immediately to   
attend to her burial. That plan had almost backfired because Marie had   
wanted to come with them to "look after the little dears" in her words.   
Hannah had smiled at this and shaken her head sadly as Logan told Marie   
firmly that "it wouldn't be a good idea at such a fragile time." What he   
should have said was "Sorry we've got a guy trying to kill us and I don't   
think you should jump into the middle of it now." but he hadn't and they   
had left Marie worried that they wouldn't make it through such a fragile   
time.   
They had come back and Logan started acting strange, he almost fell   
out of his chair at every sudden movement or noise. Hannah started   
worrying about him and it was a few days later at dinner (take out, not a   
normal Logan thing) that he told them that he was sending them to New   
York. When Hannah started exclaiming over all the shopping they could   
do Logan just smiled for a moment before cutting her off in the middle of   
saying Macy's.  
"Actually Hannah honey." He had spoken with a gentle laugh   
forming underneath his words. "I didn't mean New York City I meant   
another part of New York State. It's a small town called Hornell."  
"Do they have a Macy's?" Laila asked quietly in her soft, slanting   
voice trying to make everyone smile, it worked. Logan chuckled gently and   
smiled cheerfully at Laila, it was the first time in those few days that he had   
smiled. Cindy reached across the table and pulled a strand of her golden   
brown hair gently laughing at the whole scene.  
"Ya'll are so pathetic." Cindy giggled, but she too was smiling   
happily.  
Logan chuckled again and then started to fill them in on the details   
of departure and who they would stay with. They were to leave in two   
days at noon and they would be staying with three women, Sarah, Kirstin   
and Tricia who had lived there together for five years. Hannah got a   
picture of three old women with gray hair and lots of cats and she sighed   
wondering what there would be to do.  
She settled back in her chair watching the swarm of activity around   
her. Aren and Logan were teasing Dane for some reason and Laila was   
talking animatedly with Cindy. Hannah stood up quietly and slipped out   
of the room unnoticed. She ambled back to her room and lay face down   
on her neatly made bed, even though she almost hated to muss it. She   
cried for a long time, because she could never have a normal life, because   
Logan would never have time to stop worrying and just be with her and   
because she didn't even know what to do with her life, she couldn't spend   
it hiding. Could she?  
A COUPLE DAYS LATER AT THE AIRPORT AGAIN  
Hannah looked over at Logan and frowned, she hadn't talked to him   
in two days and she wasn't about to start now. Logan pocketed the tickets   
and wheeled himself over toward her; she ducked to the other side of Aren   
and Laila only leaving Dane on her other side. Logan dropped back to   
cross over to her and Hannah slipped across back to the other side putting   
Aren on her other side. Logan stopped his chair completely and all the   
others but Hannah stopped to wait for him. Hannah kept walking toward   
the gate that they were supposed to board at and all of the others stared   
after her shocked at her odd behavior. Aren took a quick running, jump   
and caught hold of her hand. She tried to wrench it free but he held tight.   
"Hannah why won't you talk to him? He's your father!" He   
exclaimed.  
"Aren I don't want to talk about it."   
"But you're going to! Come over here and sit with me." He led her   
to a row of chairs that were pushed against a wall of the corridor. He   
gently pushed her down toward the chair and she sat gratefully, though   
she'd never admit it to him. He stared into her eyes and she pulled her   
gaze away from his piecing stare pretending to be angry.  
"Tell me Hannah. Why won't you talk to Logan. After all if it hadn't   
been for you, one, we'd still be in Manticore and, two, we never would   
have found Logan, or anyone else for that matter." He cocked his head to   
the side in the exact way that always pissed her off, but at the same time   
made her want to kiss him right then and there. She was always torn   
when she was with him, after all she loved him desperately but every now   
and then she just wanted to smack him. This time she did nothing to make   
sure she didn't blow it either way.   
"Aren." She was almost whispering. "I just don't think I can ever   
get close to him."   
"But Hannah he's the whole reason we're here and not at Manticore.   
First we escaped just so you could find him and then he sent us away just   
so Lydecker wouldn't get us and now he's doing it again. Hannah if you   
don't talk to him, you'll be making all of our efforts useless. You have to   
talk to him." Aren was pleading now, something he normally didn't do   
and it made Hannah smile sadly. She stood quietly and walked over to   
where Logan still sat in his wheelchair. She leaned down and threw her   
arms around his neck and she whispered furiously into his ear three   
words.  
"Logan, I'm sorry."   
He looked up at her as she pulled away and smiled to show that he   
accepted it. Then he started moving again and she jumped out of the way.   
Aren slipped his arm around Hannah's waist and Hannah smiled over at   
him glad that she had apologized, she felt so much better, and now if she   
got killed, or vice versa, Logan wouldn't be mad at her.   
They got to the gate and the plane was already boarding for first   
class. Without a word Hannah bent down and kissed Logan's cheek. He   
didn't say anything; it was enough for both of them to know that they   
would under other circumstances. Hannah slipped through the ticket gate   
with Aren showing the steward her ticket as she did. They settled   
themselves on the plane and got ready for a long trip.   
Hannah woke to the sound of the pilot telling them to buckle their   
seatbelts, it was just barely twilight and she yawned as she woke from her   
catnap. She clipped her belt and watched as everyone around her did the   
same. They landed and Hannah was appalled when the lady behind her   
spewed all over her, but mostly in her hair. So she walked off the flight   
with puke in her hair and fifty dollars in her pocket, the woman had been   
appalled too and had given it to her for compensation. Hannah turned   
around in circles looking for the three women who they were going to live   
with. She tried to spot gray hair or old outfits but she couldn't see a single   
one. She jumped about a mile when a cheery and hyper sounding voice   
came from behind her.  
"You must be Hannah, Aren, Laila and Dane." Hannah spun around   
to find a woman in her early thirties or late twenties with copper hair.  
"We might be. Who are you?" She asked cautiously.  
"I'm Sarah. You'll be staying with me. If you're Hannah." Sarah   
added.   
"I am, let's go." Hannah replied.  
"Oh my God you smell like shit." Chimed another woman with   
brown hair that fell to touch the backs of her knees. "I'm Kirstin." She   
added as though there had to be some formality however weak. Yet   
another woman appeared, this one a few years younger than the others,   
probably about twenty one.   
"Hey. I'm Tricia, you look like you've got a story to tell. First let's go   
to the powder room and I'll try to get some of that out of your hair. K?"   
Her voice bounced about but at the same time seemed to roll off her tongue   
making her words almost songlike. Hannah gratefully followed after her   
while the others went to get the bags.   
They all met up fifteen minutes later out front where Kirstin had   
already brought the truck around. They all climbed in the back and settled   
in for the long drive from Rochester to Hornell.   
Hornell was nothing like Hannah had imagined, it was charming,   
but extremely small. It was late when they turned onto a road with an old   
street sign that Hannah could barely make out though she thought it said,   
'East Van Scooter'. There were lots of cute houses along both sides of the   
road and neat lawns with flowers and vegetable gardens, it almost looked   
pre-pulse if that was possible so long after it had hit. Hannah smiled as   
they pulled up in front of a large white house with green shutters, you   
could tell there had been additions added to the once small, original   
structure and Hannah thought that maybe that was how the people at   
Manticore thought of them, just additions to the original structure. She   
brought herself back to the present and slung her bag over her shoulder as   
they all tromped up to the door where Sarah pulled out a key and with a   
few added flares led them into the house. They entered into a teal living   
room and Hannah noticed that there were pictures of the three cousins,   
when they were young, hanging on a wall above the couch. They were   
given a tour of the downstairs, and upstairs and then Sarah surprised the   
kids by stopping them at the bottom of the stairs that went up. Sarah   
stepped up on the first stair and then preceded to the next, she knocked   
and called through.   
"Maia, come out and meet our new tenants." She called through the   
closed door. There was a shuffling on the other side of the door and then it   
was swung open by a fairly short, black girl. The girl's hair frizzed on her   
head but she wore it long and held it back with a large clip, her dark   
brown eyes wandered over each one of the kids and then she smiled in an   
amused way.   
"So you're the genetically engineered killers that are going to be   
staying with us." She said this sarcastically as though she could care less   
that they could snap her neck before she could blink. "Which of you is   
Hannah?"  
"I am." Hannah announced stepping forward and smiling, she   
already liked the girl who was looking her over while still smiling making   
Hannah feel like a part of her family.  
"You know we're technically cousins, just not by blood." Maia told   
her.   
"That's neat." Hannah replied.  
"Wanna see my room?" Maia asked.  
"Sure." Hannah told her enthusiastically, and they disappeared up   
the stairs, closing the door behind them.  
"Well let's get the rest of you settled in." Kay smiled as she said this.   
She'd known that Hannah and Maia would hit it off from what Logan had   
told her about Hannah.   
TWO MONTHS LATER IN NEW YORK  
"You still can't get me!" Hannah yelled back at Maia as she dogged   
away from her grabbing hand. They'd been playing tag all day, everyone   
but Hannah had been it at least once and Hannah wasn't about to get   
caught now. She ducked under the kiddie bars and dashed over to the   
boardwalk. She jumped up, not using too much of her advantage, but just   
enough to boost her a step ahead, and grabbed hold of the wooden plank   
that connected the bridge. She hauled herself up and snuck a peek behind   
her as she ran along the bridge toward the stairs that led down to the   
monkey bars. Then she realized that she was falling. She put her hands   
out as though trying to balance and felt someone take a firm grip and haul   
her back up. As she swung up her eyes focused on Kerry who stood in   
front of her looking as though she had never been away except for the fact   
that her left eye was swollen shut and bruised.   
"Hannah who's that?" Asked Maia coming up behind them from the   
way Hannah had come. "And what happened to her?"  
"I am Kerry and Broodus happened to me." Kerry spoke through   
her teeth as though she didn't think it was any of Maia's business.   
"come on let's get you back to the house and fix you up with a room and   
some ice for that eye. It looks nasty." Laila took over, coming up behind   
them and Kerry went with her no questions asked. Hannah and the others   
trailed after them. Hannah wanted desperately to ask Aren if they should   
trust Kerry, but she knew that he trusted her already. Hannah wondered   
how Kerry and her could be half sisters, after all they were barely alike in   
any way. When the rest of them arrived Kerry and Laila had already   
disappeared inside. They entered the living room to find Kerry talking   
cautiously to Kirstin.  
"Look Kerry we can't help you if you won't talk to us." Kay informed   
her. "Do you know if Broodus followed you?"  
"He didn't." Kerry replied.  
"How can you be sure of that?" Hannah asked sitting on the arm of   
the chair that Kerry was in.  
"If he had followed me he wouldn't have waited this long to snatch   
me up. I've been 'free' for three weeks." Kerry retorted crossly. "Now can   
I get a bed with some clean sheets so that I can get some rest?"   
"Of course." Tricia came bustling into the room and reached for   
Kerry's hand. Kerry didn't give it to her, just stood up and waited for   
Tricia to lead the way. Tricia led her out of the room and Kerry followed.   
She was taken to Maia's room.   
"I'll just make Maia sleep down on the couch for a night or two and   
we'll fix up the computer room for you to sleep in, we're out of real rooms   
at the moment." Tricia bubbled while Kerry looked around the dark green   
room that she'd be staying in for a night of so. She turned to look at Tricia   
as though saying 'you can go now'. Tricia took the hint and left the room   
leaving Kerry alone, with the phone.  
Kerry crossed to the bed and picked the phone up from the   
nightstand. She dialed a number and listened to it ringing for a moment   
before it was picked up. A gruff male voice answered and she responded   
immediately.  
"Broodus, they're at 44 East Van Scooter St. Hornell, New York." She   
rattled off the address that she had memorized as soon as she had gotten   
there, they had known that the others were in Hornell but they hadn't   
known where they were staying, now they did and they could pick them   
up easily. She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed waiting for him   
to show up.  



	5. Manticore Kid Part 5

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, Lydecker and all the original character's aren't mine. Hannah, Kerry, Aren, Laila, Dane, Kirstin, Tricia, Sarah, Maia and any other made up characters are mine as is the story plot.  
  
A/N: If you want to use my stories or characters or even my plot for anything I'll let you, just ask first please.  
  
BACK IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH HANNAH  
Hannah sat in the living room puzzling over Kerry. At first Kerry hadn't even seemed to want to escape but she had escaped Broodus on her own. Could there be another side to Kerry or was she just trying to stay out of experiments like the rest of them?   
  
Hannah wanted to believe that Kerry wanted what they did, to be free to have a normal life, but there was just something missing from the picture. She couldn't put her finger on it but she knew that something was wrong, it had to be. Not that she wanted trouble it was just that if she was wrong about Kerry then she knew she was biased against her for no reason.   
  
Lydecker had always shown favor to Kerry. He'd taken her away from the dorm some nights and Hannah could only imagine what they had done, though now with the tv shows that she had seen she was getting a better picture. She didn't really envy Kerry, she had never thought that Kerry had it so much better than them. Well maybe she had. She remembered how they had all talked about her behind her back when Lydecker would come to take her out of the room, they used to try and imagine what kinds of great things he would give her. He had definitely never come down on her as hard as he had the others. Kerry could get away with standing at ease in the middle of a training drill whereas the others couldn't even let one shoulder drop below the other without severe punishment. Hannah had never thought it fair though in retrospect he had never gone as hard on her as he had on Aren and Laila and Dane either. She had still hated it, but sitting there wasn't helping her at all, she picked herself up from the couch and headed up to her room to get changed and get Maia, she felt like going to a movie.   
  
THAT NIGHT AROUND THREE AM  
Hannah's head snapped up from the pillow, car doors were slamming outside and Hannah jumped off her top bunk landing with barely a noise and dashed to the window looking out over the front lawn. Broodus stood on the sidewalk looking at the house as though he owned the place.   
  
"Everyone wake up!" Hannah screamed at the top of her lungs, a few moments later Aren, Dane, and Laila were all standing around her wondering what was up. "They're out there! Aren take over!" And Aren did. He signed and Hannah, following his instructions darted up the stairs to get to Tricia, Sarah, Kirstin and Maia first. Laila followed behind her and they met the four people as they were coming towards the stairs.   
  
"We heard you scream. What the hell is up? It's three am, and I need my beauty sleep!" Kirstin demanded but she was mostly joking.  
  
"He's here, get up to the attic NOW!!!!!" Hannah ordered pushing the four of them toward the attic door. They got them up into the attic only to find that Kerry was gone. "Damn it!" Hannah screamed in a fit of rage punching the wall. She was mad at herself for not trusting her gut instinct.  
  
Kerry was bad, she should have known, but she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, after all Kerry was her half sister. But there was no time for regrets she had to go find out what Aren needed her to do now, after all now she was the second oldest and hence the second in command. Aren and Dane met them in the upstairs hall.  
  
He signed to them quickly and Hannah agreed, they would be better off working from the upstairs it would give them height advantage. Then they heard the footsteps on the roof; thank God the fireplace was in Sarah's room which just happened to be the farthest back, there were two doors between them and the hall.  
  
Hannah positioned herself at the top of the stairs and watched as Aren took the door that led to Tricia and Sarah's rooms, Dane took the door to Kirstin's room and Laila kept lookout from the window. It wasn't long before the action began. It seemed that Broodus had planned things perfectly, his men seemed to all burst in upon them at once. Soon Hannah was kicking men down the stairs while Aren hurled them over her head and down the stairs, Dane was trying to keep the men from charging him too heavily and Laila was trying to help him.   
  
Soon the stairs were covered with blood and Laila reported that there were more men with guns this time out front. Apparently Broodus did learn something, tire out your enemy and then send in the real challenge. The fresh men swarmed in, but not before Aren had regrouped them. They fought well and soon the men were coming fewer and far, that's when Aren noticed that Hannah wasn't there anymore.  
DOWN IN THE BACKYARD  
Hannah slunk behind the blackcap bush winding her way up to behind Broodus, he wasn't very bright, leaving himself unguarded. And then Kerry appeared in front of her.  
  
"I knew you'd come after him." Kerry stated simply. "I couldn't let that happen."  
  
"Kerry why?" Hannah asked seriously wanting to know.  
  
"Because we should live the way we were made to live. We weren't made to be free!"  
  
"Oh but we were made to be Lydecker's personal sex slaves?" Hannah retorted.  
  
"You never had to do anything like that so don't give me any crap!" Kerry threw back at her and then seemingly loosing her patience she also threw a punch at her, Hannah dodged it and punched Kerry in the stomach.   
  
Kerry tried to get in another punch and Hannah threw out her leg, knocking Kerry off balance she jumped on top of her pinning her down. Kerry struggled as Hannah punched her repeatedly trying to knock some sense into her. Blood gushed from Kerry's nose and both her eyes were swollen shut, and that's when Hannah felt the cold muzzle of a gun at her temple.   
  
"Stand up nice and slow 20." The barcode number was shortened but it was uttered in a serious tone and she knew she'd have to give in.  
  
"Aren't I worth more alive than dead?"   
  
"Not if you kill my best soldier."   
  
"She's a traitor." Hannah accused.  
  
"No you are the traitor, she was loyal to the end." And with that he turned the gun on Kerry and shot her through the head.  
  
"You just said she was your best soldier! Why'd you kill her? Wasn't she putting out?" Hannah sneered coldly.  
  
"Oh she was doing much more than that, but it's you I want." The gun was at her head again, she had been too stunned to move away before and now she chided herself as Broodus' free hand moved to her shoulders sliding under her blond curls and caressing the base of her neck, where her barcode was imprinted. Hannah shied away at his touch but was wary to turn on him; the gun was after all still an immediate threat. She decided to play his games; maybe if he thought she was warming to him he'd relax.  
  
"And what if I told you that you could have me?" She asked trying to keep her tone level while also trying not to cringe at his touch, in fact she forced herself to move a little closer to him.  
  
"I'd know you were lying." He answered her. She wasn't about to give up and if there was one thing she was good at it was acting.  
  
"But what if I wasn't." Here she pushed herself up against him trying to hold back the brine that was rising in her throat at his touch.  
  
"I'd like that." He admitted. "But of course you already knew that. Right now however my prerogative is to get you back to Manticore and under strict surveillance." He was definitely not going to be fooled so she gave it up pulling away from his surprisingly muscular body.  
  
"Aren't you worried about getting the others? Without me they'll all scatter and you'll never be able to find them."  
  
"They didn't 'scatter' when Kerry got taken and they won't now." He reasoned and she hoped he wasn't right. "Now let's go." One hand gripped her arm firmly, but roughly and guided her towards the front yard, and the car that would take her back to Manticore. But something happened on the way there, a figure stepped out of the shadows and Broodus gasped as he apparently recognized them.  
  
"332960073452 stand down." He ordered, but the figure didn't respond. "I'll kill her!" He threatened.  
  
"No you won't." The figure responded moving a little closer. "I could snap your neck before you could pull the trigger and you know it, so did your uncle."   
  
"I'll do it now." He pressed the muzzle into her head a little harder.  
  
"How did I become a pawn in this??" Hannah moaned.  
  
"It'll be okay Hannah." The figure said, she still couldn't make out who it was and now she wondered how they knew her name, but she didn't dare ask.  
  
"Stand down!" Broodus bellowed.  
  
"No." The figure responded moving forward a little more. "You know you want both of us, a perfect match. And besides the more of us you can get the better."   
  
"Of course I want both of you!" His chest was swelling like a mad, male bird's.   
  
"Well then take us." Hannah screamed growing completely impatient.   
  
"You shut up!" Broodus hollered at her and Hannah finally snapped. She flung her arm back and wrapped it around his neck quickly bringing his head down towards the ground and trying to wrestle the gun out of his hand, but not very successfully.   
  
Then the figure was there taking it from him and throwing it over her shoulder, Hannah gasped as she caught sight of the figure's face almost letting go of Broodus as she did. Instead of letting him go she was even more determined to choke the life out of him and that she did. It wasn't long before she had completely cut off his breathing and then she snapped his neck quickly and cleanly making sure that he wouldn't bother her friends, her or her mother ever again. 


	6. Manticore Kid Part 6

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, Lydecker and all the original character's aren't mine. Hannah, Kerry, Aren, Laila, Dane, Kirstin, Tricia, Sarah, Maia and any other made up characters are mine as is the story plot.  
  
A/N: If you want to use my stories or characters or even my plot for anything I'll let you, just ask first please.  
  
STILL IN HORNELL TWO DAYS LATER  
Hannah sat on the front porch swing waiting for Kirstin to arrive from the airport with Logan and Cindy, she couldn't wait to see them, the screen door opened and someone came out but Hannah didn't bother to look and see who it was.  
  
"Hey boo!" Came the now familiar voice, Hannah's head snapped up and she saw Max come out on the porch, she ducked her head again not knowing what to say. "Well what am I poisonous or something?"  
  
"No I just, well…" Hannah trailed off. "I don't know what to say to you. I mean I met you two days ago. You can't become a mother in two days."  
  
"I understand, but can you become friends in two days?" Max countered.  
  
"I suppose, but don't you want to be my mother?" Hannah asked.  
  
"You just never seem to be satisfied do you?" Max joked, sort of. "Of course I want to be your mother, but I think I have to be your friend first."   
  
"I suppose that could work."   
  
"I hope so cause I missed you babe! I remember when you were a baby I used to sing to you, this one song." And then Max started singing. "Some say love, it is a river that drowns the tender reed." Here Hannah joined in much to Max's surprise but her voice remained just as sweet as before and as their two voices joined and mingled they sounded even better soaring up over the rooftops.  
  
"Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed. Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, and you it's only seed." The song ended but neither of them spoke for a while, it was Max who broke the silence.  
  
"So you remember." She stated it though she had meant it as a question.  
  
"Yeah." Was all Hannah could think to say and then she spotted Kirstin's car coming down the street. "Here they come." She spoke up pointing toward the car as it puttered along.  
  
"Yes, here they come." But Max didn't sound as happy as she could.   
  
"What's a matter?" Hannah asked.  
  
"I just haven't seen Cindy or Logan in a while and I'm not sure how to act." Max confessed, she felt like there was nothing she couldn't share with her daughter.  
  
"Just act like you. After all you got along great before…" Here Hannah trailed off, Max still hadn't told her what had happened to keep her away. Hannah had a hunch that she only wanted to tell the story once and she was waiting for everyone to be there first.  
  
"Sure." Max murmured but Hannah could tell that she wasn't even really listening, her eyes had glazed over a bit and she was staring at the approaching car as though transfixed.  
  
The car pulled up in front and Hannah almost fell over as she watched Logan get out of the car without a wheelchair in site. Max looked unfazed and stood on the porch stonily watching as though if she showed any feeling she'd fall over. Hannah felt sorry for her, seeing Cindy and Logan after so long must be really hard on her.   
  
Logan walked up the steps, there was no wheelchair, no cane, no braces on his legs, nothing. Hannah watched as he stood on the step before the porch. Max stood right at the top of the stairs and she studied him for a moment, tracing the lines and contours of his face with her eyes before finally moving to let him up. He walked over to where Hannah sat and sat down beside her on the swing, pushing it back a bit as he did.  
  
"So how'd you ditch the chair?" Hannah asked, not that she wasn't happy that she had, it was cool to see him standing up, but it was weird too.  
  
"I never needed it." He replied as though it were a normal comment. Hannah whirled to stare at him disturbing the swing as she did; it swayed violently before Logan steadied it and turned calmly to her.   
  
"What do you mean you never needed it?" She questioned hotly.  
  
"I mean that I didn't need it. See I had the chair for most of the time that I knew your mother and then I started to be able to walk but nine months or so later she was dead. I kept the chair and when she died, well, I suppose she didn't really die but she did technically. Either way I started using it again." He explained this as though it were normal.  
  
"So you kept the chair because of mom?" Hannah inquired curiously, thinking that Logan might be a little sappy.  
  
"Yes. I missed her. She was my soul mate."   
  
"You talk as though you still think she's dead." Hannah accused.  
  
"In many ways I still think she is." He replied standing up and holding his hand out to her as though to lead her into the house.  
  
Hannah realized that Max and Cindy had already made their way into the house and so she allowed Logan to help her to her feet. She let him slip his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the house to find everyone already gathered in the living room, waiting for them. Hannah sat on the floor next to Aren, all the seats were taken except for one which Logan took. Then Max stood up and began her story.  
  
"I know you're all wondering how I came back from the dead." She announced and Hannah saw a few people nod as though agreeing with her. "Well I'm going to give you the answer, but only once." And then she really launched into her story. "When I had Hannah I was the proudest mother ever, but I still had to free Brin and find Leigh. So Zack and I set out to find Leigh before we tried to free Brin, we wanted as much backup as we could get. But things took an odd twist. Lydecker seemed to know we were coming and I started to fight but Zack didn't. I tried to ask him why but he just shook his head and wouldn't fight. I fought off most of Lydecker's men but I couldn't get away and they finally overpowered me. Lydecker killed Zack and sent me back to Manticore. I tried to escape five six hundred times, but they kept me there. Then Lydecker was killed, I heard the rumor that it had been escapees that had done it and I immediately knew that it was Hannah and the others that they had 'collected'. So I busted out that same night and headed to Logan's. When I got there I found that Hannah and the others were already there, since I wasn't sure how they'd react I didn't tell them I was there. I followed Logan to Boston and then back to Seattle and then I decided that you might need me here. So I headed over to Hornell and got there right as Broodus and his men showed up. I blended into the background until he threatened my daughter and then I stepped in. The rest is pretty much history."   
  
Max sat down in her chair waiting for it to sink in. Hannah stood up and walked over to Max's chair and then she flung her arms around her. Max hugged her back stunned. It was the first time that Hannah had really hugged her since she was a baby.  
  
Max got a flash from when Hannah was a baby. She had just been born and Max was holding her. They had just named her and Zack had left the room to get Max something to drink. Max remembered looking down at her, rubbing the soft, downy fuzz on her head and humming. It had grown slowly to singing and that was the first time that she had sung Hannah the lullaby. It had felt like giving Hannah a part of her soul, after all her love life had sucked for the most part, but she had still gotten Hannah out of it. She had never sung any other song, and she'd never sung it when she thought anyone else was around, and every time she had imagined giving a little piece of her soul to her child. And that day on the porch she had gotten much more than those little pieces back from Hannah. Hannah had practically thrown a whole other soul at her Max wondered if souls could grow. But she snapped back to the present as Hannah sat up.  
  
"Mom, now what?"   
  
"I'm not sure Han, I'm just not sure." Max whispered pulling Hannah back into another embrace. Logan cleared his throat and Max and Hannah turned to look at him.   
  
"I know this is a little weird and all especially right now but…" He walked over toward Max's chair, Hannah got up and moved to the side, backing up slightly. Logan knelt down as he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. "Max, I've always loved you. Will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a ring with not a diamond but a sapphire in it. Max stared down at him not knowing what to say.  
  
"Yes." She replied as soon as she found her voice.  
  
And then Logan stood and Max flung herself into his arms. Hannah made her way over to them and Logan and Max made room for her to squeeze into their embrace. And at that moment all of them knew that in one way at least they would have a normal family and maybe even a normal life.  



	7. Manticore Kid Part 7

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, Kendra, Sketchy, Normal, Herbal, Bling, Zack and Lydecker aren't mine. Hannah, Aren, Laila, and Dane, Kirstin, Tricia, Sarah, and Maia are mine as are most of the other guests in the w_____g scene.  
  
A/N: This was a twist I thought up. I was planning to stop after P5 but I ended up extending my ideas for P5 into 2 parts hence there was a P6. Somehow along the way though Hannah really grew on me and so I'm not ready to give her up yet. I spent a whole day of school zoned out trying to think up a way to keep her around and here it is… this will probably end up adding 3 more parts.  
  
Summary: Ok... There's a wedding, or there would have been if someone hadn't come back... :)   
  
P7  
  
At Logan's in Seattle  
  
Hannah dashed into the kitchen where Logan stood following her nose t o the stove where a newly made coffee cake sat.  
  
"I smelled coffee cake!" She explained as Logan looked up at her. "Any coffee to go with the cake?"   
  
"Would it be coffee cake if there weren't?" Logan questioned, in his fake serious voice that barely concealed his laughter.  
  
"I'm taking that as a yes." Hannah said moving towards the other counter where the coffee pot sat.   
  
Max wandered in a moment later in a dark red silk robe and shuffled over to the coffee cake. She took a piece and walked over to the table where Logan sat. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, but he turned at the last moment and their lips connected. Hannah giggled as Max pulled back.   
  
"You did that on purpose." Max accused lightly.  
  
"Of course, there was a beautiful woman in a robe who I could get to kiss me." He joked back.  
  
"Oh well in that case." And Max leaned down and kissed him again, it wasn't a long kiss, it wasn't even open mouth. Max had laid a ground rule that she and Logan would never get really intimate in front of Hannah and Hannah kind of liked it, but it was still cute to see them play-love-fight as she called it.   
  
Aren finally found his way into the kitchen as Hannah was finishing her coffee. Logan and Max had agreed to let him live with them, but Hannah had insisted that they not adopt Aren, after all you never knew. Max had understood but Logan was still clueless, men were naive. He didn't take any cake or coffee but he grabbed himself a protein bar from the box on top of the fridge.   
  
"How can you eat those? They taste like dirt!" Hannah exclaimed, not really wanting to know but trying to find a good conversation starter.  
  
"No they don't here have a bite." He held out the bar.   
  
"Let's go out onto the balcony and I'll try it there." She replied, Max winked at her. Aren followed her out onto the balcony, the balcony that you couldn't see from the dining room. He held out the bar again.  
  
"Seriously I want you to try it!" He pushed the bar farther towards her.  
  
"You really want me to taste that thing?" She asked as though it were the worst thing in the world though she didn't really have anything against them.  
  
"Yes." He answered.  
  
"Well you'll have to dilute the flavor a bit." She announced.  
  
"How do I do that?" He asked.  
  
"Well there is one way I know. See you've been eating it, so you should taste like it."   
  
"You're proposing eating me?" He asked joking.  
  
"No more like this." And she leaned in and they kissed, she knew they should break it off before it became open mouth, but they ended up open mouth before she could stop it. Then she broke off, not too quickly though. "Hmm." She pretended to be trying hard to decide. "The bar wasn't bad... the kiss was great." And then she was back inside before he could reply she loved playing with him.  
  
She found her way back to her bedroom where she changed from boxers and a tee into shorts and a tank. This summer was getting hotter and hotter, in more ways than one. After all in two days Logan and Max were getting married. Hannah was to be the flower girl and Aren the ring bearer, Cindy was the Maid of Honor, Kendra was a bridesmaid, Bling was the Best Man and Sketchy and Herbal were going to be the ushers. She had been back in Seattle for seven months and her and Max had tracked down all of Max's old friends. Even Normal, turns out he was married with a kid, a very ugly kid, but a kid nonetheless.  
  
Hannah's door was flung open and Max bound in and landed on her bed.   
  
"They'll be here in an hour. Do you want to go to the airport to meet them with Logan or do you want to come with me to the mall to pick out a new outfit?" She asked.  
  
"Depends." Hannah replied simply.  
  
"Depends are for old people." Max replied.  
  
"Wrong Depends." Hannah replied again.  
  
"Oh so they took my suggestion and started making them for babies too!" Max joked.  
  
"Not quite. The other kind of depends." This time Hannah made sure that she said the 'd' lower case.   
  
"Oh you mean it depends!" Max smacked her hand to her forehead as though she'd just had a huge revelation.   
  
"Yes." Hannah replied.  
  
"Depends on what?" Max asked.  
  
"On whether or not I get an outfit too." She replied, Max threw a pillow at her.  
  
"Of course you get an outfit too. And we really should look for shoes." Max told her looking down at the worn sandals that Hannah was wearing.  
  
"Fine with me." Hannah told her. "I'll come with you to the mall."   
  
"Good, I didn't want to wander the mall alone, after all I need someone to give me their opinion, the mannequins don't talk much." Max ducked out the doorway before Hannah could throw the pillow at her and her laughter floated back into the room. Yah, they were definitely more like friends than mother-daughter, but Hannah liked it that way.  
  
Two Days Later @ A Small Church Outside Of The City  
  
"Charming." Hannah breathed as they pulled up in the car.   
  
Cindy climbed out and so did all the other girls and women. They had blinded Logan and Max had driven. That way the groom didn't see the bride before the wedding. Normally Max and Hannah didn't buy into any of that superstitious mumbo jumbo but as Cindy and Laila had pointed out, with their luck they didn't want to tempt fate.  
  
Max dashed into the church and Hannah carefully carried her wedding dress in after her. The caretaker pointed them toward the room, which would serve as the Bride's dressing room. Cindy set about helping Max in to the dress and doing her hair while Hannah slipped into her dress. The bride's dress of course was pure white and the bridesmaids dresses were full length, no sleeve in a dark blue almost navy color. Hannah on the other hand was the flower girl. Her dress only went to mid-shin and it was a light periwinkle blue so that she would stand out. Her flower petals were pure white and dark blue and her basket was the same color as her dress. She loved the outfit.  
  
Finally everything was ready and Hannah was taking her spot in line to walk down the aisle. First Kendra, then Cindy went. Hannah could feel her knees turn to jelly as she started down the aisle. She gently tossed the petals along the aisle, signifying how lovely the bride would be or something like that. She reached the front where Logan stood and turned to stand beside Kendra who had tears in her eyes.   
  
She turned around and watched as Max walked towards the front slowly. It was weird to see her moving slowly, Max was always such a fast pace person. Her dress wasn't fancy, just elegant. Simple elegance, Max had stressed this when talking to the lady at the dress store. It was a full length gown that had a patterned lace cover over the tight fitting duller white material underneath it. Hannah and Max had both fallen in love with it as soon as they had seen it. There was a slit up to a little ways above the knee on the right and it showed off the perfect dark tan color of Max's skin. For a moment Hannah was struck by her beauty and then she was standing at the front and the ceremony started.   
  
The ceremony went completely smoothly until the pastor asked if anyone knew a reason that they shouldn't become man and wife. Then trouble hit. A voice came from the back of the church, reverberating through the small space.  
  
"I do." It said.  
  
"What?" The pastor was automatically taken aback. He motioned for the person to finish speaking and suddenly a man stepped out of the shadows by the doorway. He looked familiar but she couldn't place him. Then she heard Max speak.  
  
"Zack?"  
  
"Dad?" Hannah breathed.   
  
"Zack what are you doing here?" She asked shakily. "I thought you were dead!"   
  
"Far from it." He answered. "But you'd probably like it better if I were. Huh Maxxy? It'd be so much easier if I were gone and out of your hair for good. That's what you're thinking isn't it? Well Lydecker didn't kill me. You saw me get shot, you didn't ever see me die. And now I'm back and you can't marry Logan, cause you're married to me!"   
There was a large collective gasp that echoed through the crowd and then Max turned to Logan.  
  
"Logan I didn't know. My god I'm so sorry Logan." But Logan pushed her away and then he turned and walked down the aisle toward the church's doors looking lost and dejected. He pushed past Zack and as Zack moved Hannah broke out of her trance and started to run after him. She shoved past Zack just as Logan reached the doors.  
  
"Logan!" She shouted catching up to him. You can't go. You have to stay and fight it, fight him. You're my dad he's just my father." She pleaded he turned and looked at her and she felt for a moment as though he were trying to say goodbye, but his expression abruptly changed as he caught sight of her face. His face crumpled and he held out his arms inviting her in. She went to him and he hugged her to him.  
  
"We'll fight it." He whispered into her ear and she mumbled a yes, pulling him closer.  
  



	8. Manticore Kid Part 8

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, and Zack aren't mine. Hannah, Aren, Laila, and Dane are.  
  
A/N: There is none for a change so I put this pointlessness in instead... read on now and enjoy... dang that can technically be a note... *SIGH* I can't win! :) ;) :)   
  
Summary: Max has to choose. Will it be Logan or Zack? And what about what Hannah wants?  
  
P8  
  
IN A SMALL DINER WITH LOGAN, ZACK, AND MAX  
  
Max flung her hair over her shoulder and looked over the table at Logan and Zack with disdain.   
  
"Look Maxxy you have to choose!" Zack exclaimed. "You can't marry both of us."  
  
"Why not? It'd make things easier." Max retorted though not really serious.   
  
"Max normally I wouldn't say anything but you do have to choose. I didn't make you choose between us when we were dating and he came to town, you did that, but this is way more serious. And besides our feelings you have to consider Hannah and Aren's feelings as well." Logan told her staring down at his hands, the ones that he'd clasped tightly in his lap.  
  
"Great you too." Max sighed and then slumped down a little bit on her side of the table. She had refused to sit by either of them and so they sat on one side as far away from each other as possible and she sat on the other side staring across the table at them.  
  
Finally she sat up straighter and her eyes seemed to shift back and forth assessing each of them before resting on Zack.   
  
"I'll go with you. Less hassle right?" She announced fairly uncertainly.  
  
"No Max, first Hannah will have to get used to him, then you'll have to figure out where to live, then you'll have to give Hannah time to get used to that place. Also would you like living on the run?"  
  
"I've done it before!" Max defended herself.  
  
"But did you like it?" Logan asked the question a little more urgently than he had before.  
  
"Look I may not have liked it but it was safer than settling down like we did before. We got too comfortable with the thought that we were safe in Seattle and that carried over into our jobs. Until finally we both ended up back at Manticore. I can't settle down Logan!" She was almost pleading, as though she couldn't deal with much more. This was definitely not normal Max behavior.   
  
"Max come on. We'll go now." Zack started to stand up and walk around to her side of the booth.  
  
"No sit down." Max motioned to his side of the booth again and he sat, this time with a scowl plastered to his face.  
  
"Logan had a good point. Hannah will have to get used to you. So until she is used to you we're going to move into my old apartment. Kendra doesn't have a roommate and since I don't need to sleep Hannah can have my old room and bed. When she's used to the situation we can start moving, until she's ready we stay in Seattle where she can still see Logan if she needs to." Max told them both but mostly Zack. "Can you deal with that?" She addressed them both.  
  
"It's fine with me." Logan replied though he would have liked a little more than that, hell he would have liked Max to choose him, but obviously he wasn't good enough for that. Well what had he expected, she was a beautiful woman only in her early thirties and Zack was a handsome man in his mid thirties whereas he was in his mid forties. Still it would have been nice.  
  
"Fine." Zack finally mumbled. Max nodded and stood up.   
  
"I'll go tell Hannah and get her packed up. You two need to talk." And she was gone before either of them could protest.  
  
"So we need to talk." Zack said moving to the other side of the booth.  
  
"That's what your wife says." Logan spat out the sentence.  
  
Suddenly a waitress appeared beside their booth.  
  
"Look ya'll two have been sitting here for more than an hour. Are you ready to order now?" But she said it in a voice that said, you-need-to-order-something-or-get-out-of-my-booth. Logan wearily picked up the menu and ran his finger over the text.   
  
"I'll have the Tuna Melt, a Root Bear and an order of fries." He announced to shut the woman up.  
  
"And you sir?" She turned on Zack.  
  
Zack did basically what Logan had and then announced his order. The woman noted it down and headed for the kitchen leaving them alone again.  
  
"Look I know that you like Max but I love her." Zack told Logan as soon as the waitress was out of ear shot.  
  
"I love Max too. But I left it up to her to chose who she loved. She chose you. End of story." Logan replied.  
  
"No not end of story. Max still loves you and if I don't get her and Hannah out of here fast she'll go crawling back to you." As Zack told him this Logan realized that it was mostly true. And if Max didn't come back to him he'd probably start showing up at her apartment to 'see Hannah'. It would be pathetic.   
  
"So hope Hannah gets used to you pretty quickly.  
  
"Yah right! That girl adores you. You seem to have her wrapped around your little finger." Zack scoffed.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I love Max and Hannah and you just might not have a place in our lives."  
  
"You say that as though I'm already giving up."  
  
"Well you seem to be doing just that." Logan retorted.  
  
"Hardly." Zack replied. "Look we'd better get out of here before we kill each other."  
  
"Our food hasn't come yet." Logan reminded him.  
  
"So we wait for it eat in silence and then leave, no strings attached." Zack laid it on the table.  
  
"Works for me." Logan agreed and they settled down in silence with their own thoughts to wait for their food.  
  
AN HOUR LATER BACK AT LOGAN'S  
  
Zack waited for Logan to unlock the door of the apartment and them pushed in behind him. He was ready to help Max move Hannah's stuff that minute. Logan walked back to Hannah's room and Zack made his way out onto the balcony, it was the only place in Logan's apartment that he felt comfortable. It wasn't long though before he heard the sliding glass door open. He turned to see Logan standing in there.  
  
"What now?" Zack asked irritated.  
  
"She's gone." Logan said with no emotion showing in his voice.  
  
"Who? Hannah?" Zack asked though he already knew that Logan meant Max.  
  
"You know who I mean." Logan replied seeing right through him.   
  
"So she cut out." Zack didn't ask he stated.   
  
"She told Hannah that we had agreed that she should take a little time out to clear her head and that she should stay here with me. She said she'd be back within the month. I don't know when she'll really be back." Logan told him and then he turned and went back into the living room. He plopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands. His head hurt.  
  
How could Max have cut out after making a game plan? Sure she didn't like having to choose but it was better if she did. If she'd just stuck with the plans things would have gone smoothly and fairly quickly. Sure it would have torn him up but he wouldn't let her know that and she could get on with her life as she wanted to. He sighed and looked up to see Zack in a chair across from him. As he looked up Zack got up and crossed to the door.   
  
"So I'll see you in a month." He said as he opened the door.  
  
"Yah. See you in a month." Logan replied and then the door closed and Zack was gone. Logan buried his head again as a few tears slid out of his eyes. Where had Max gone and was she still safe on her own? 


	9. Manticore Kid Part 9

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, and Zack aren't mine. Hannah, Aren, Laila, and Dane are.  
  
A/N: Hey here's part 9, enjoy! :)   
  
Summary: Max is gone now, she has been for three months. Logan is finally getting over his delusions of Max coming back. But how is Hannah dealing with her mother's disappearance from her life, again?  
  
P9  
  
IN HANNAH'S ROOM WITH HANNAH AND MAIA  
  
Hannah flopped back on her bed and Maia sat down next to her on the lavender comforter. Neither of them spoke for a moment and then Hannah sat up signaling to Maia to start a conversation.  
  
"I'm so glad that your Dad said I could come and visit! I missed you so much. And I didn't want to spend Winter Break stuck in Hornell." Maia babbled.  
  
"Yah so am I! But wouldn't you have rather spent Christmas with your family?" Hannah questioned.  
  
"Well I wanted Laila to see what it would be like to be an only child for once and since it's her first real Christmas it seemed like a pretty good time to do just that." Maia explained.  
  
"And your mom didn't raise a huge fuss?" Hannah was amazed.  
  
"Nah, Sarah's pretty tight like that."   
  
Maia never called Sarah mom, it just wasn't her cup of tea, and after all she was adopted. Hannah on the other hand loved calling Logan dad, but it got a little confusing when Zack stopped in for visits, she always ended up calling him dad and Logan daddy.  
  
"So what now?" Hannah asked.  
  
"Well I brought this old book that I found in the attic, it features this girl named Daria. It's pretty tight."   
  
"Well let me see it." Hannah exclaimed watching Maia as she watched her pick up her suitcase and unzip it.  
  
"Give me a sec I think It's at the bottom." Maia seemed to be thinking out loud more than anything else. Finally she produced a thin book with a brown haired girl on the front and the girls immersed themselves in the book forgetting about everything until they heard someone calling them.  
  
"Hannah! Maia!" Logan's voice wafted down the hall along with the smell of diner. Hannah leapt up and started for the door motioning to Maia as she spoke.  
  
"Come on. Diner. It should be good tonight too, after all we do have three guests." By three she meant, Maia, Dane and Zack. "Diner might get confusing." Hannah sighed as she opened the door and started down the hall with Maia trailing her.  
  
"Dane! Aren!" Logan shouted down the hall again after Hannah and Maia were in the living room. "Hannah could you set the table please? There are six of us." Logan told her.  
  
"Sure dad." She said.  
  
"What Han?" Zack's voice floated into the room from the balcony and he stuck his head in the door.  
  
"No not you, daddy." She clarified. Things were already getting confusing.   
  
She made her way to the kitchen and picked up plates, silverware and glasses. She made her way back out to the dinning room and started to set the table. She folded the napkins and placed the forks on them and then she made sure that there were enough chairs for everyone. Finally everyone was seated and she took her seat next to an empty place.  
  
"Hannah why is there another place set?" Dane asked staring at the empty chair across from him.  
  
"Mom might show up." She said simply.  
  
"Hannah I don't think..." Logan began.  
  
"Daddy I know you don't want me to set it but I want to. What if she shows up and we don't have a place set for her?" Hannah made her point, not letting Logan finish his.  
  
"I doubt she'll show up Han." Zack said.  
  
"Dad it's almost Christmas she might show up." Hannah argued.  
  
"Hannah don't be surprised if she doesn't show." Logan said.  
  
"You don't have much faith." Hannah told him.  
  
"I have experience." He retorted.  
  
"What does that mean?" Hannah demanded.  
  
"Nothing. I just mean that when she disappears she stays gone for a while." He tried to clarify but it made it worse. Hannah stood up.  
  
"I'm not hungry." She announced as she ran from the table the tears already flowing.  
  
"Great." Logan murmured as he stood and walked down the hall after her.  
  
Her door was closed but he knocked softly and then went in. She didn't object but her head didn't come out of her pillow either. He sat on her bed and placed his hand on her head gently stroking her golden ringlets.  
  
"Hannah honey I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound cruel. I just don't want you to get hurt. Your mother never meant to hurt you. She just couldn't deal with everything that was going on. I think I might have done the same thing if I were her." Hannah pulled her head out of the pillow and looked up at Logan her expression showing all of her hurt.   
  
"Dad I just want her back!" She sobbed.  
  
"I know Han." He replied sitting her up and pulling her to his chest. He smoothed her hair and let her sob into his shoulder. Finally her sobs subsided and she pulled back a little.  
  
"Dad I know you're right but I just got her back and now she's gone again. I don't know what to do. I love her so much and I barely got to know her. I was only with her for nine months after all! That's basically all I had with her as a baby too. All in all I've only known my mother for a year and four months." Logan pulled her into a quick hug.  
  
"I know Han. But you'll figure it out. You're a smart girl and believe it or not you'll get through this." And then he was gone and she was left in her room all alone. She stared at her ceiling for a while an dthen it blured wth her silent tears.  
  
"Mom please come back." She whispered shuting her eyes tight against the tears forcing their way to the surface. Then she sat up. "No. Don't. Don't come back. If you do I won't be able to handle it."   
  
Then she stood up and made her way to the bathroom. She washed and dried her face and made her way back out to the dinning room. Everyone watched her as she silently picked up the extra place setting and carried it out to the kitchen. She put it all away and then made her way back out to the table. She sat and glanced at the food on the table.  
  
"Maia could you please pass the carrots?"  



	10. Manticore Kid Part 10

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, and Zack aren't mine. Hannah, Aren, Taylor, Tanya, Lizz, Isobel, and Michael (Mike) are. So don't sue me for using the originals and don't steal my new originals... okay so that sounded weird you still know what I mean.  
  
Summary: Hannah's settled down. She has a good life, a good family, and a normal way that things are run. So what would happen if her past caught up to her? And how will she react when the one person she's tried to forget shows up at her door? (Well technically her door)  
  
P10  
  
IN A SMALL HOUSE IN A SMALL TOWN OUTSIDE THE CITY   
  
Hannah hummed to herself as she closed the oven door and turned on the timer. She moved around the kitchen gracefully fixing dinner with the utmost finesse. When everything was on to boil or in to cook she nodded and headed toward the living room.   
  
She glanced around at everything. The light purple drapes complimented the dark blue and light wooded furniture and she smiled. She plucked an old sock off of the floor murmuring something about Taylor never picking up his stuff. She straightened some of the cushions pulling a doll out from behind one of them. Her smile widened.  
  
"Lizz!" She called. A little girl with dark tresses came bounding down the hall.   
  
"Mommy you found Maxxy!" She exclaimed grabbing the doll out of her mother's hands and then flinging herself around her legs almost toppling Hannah over.   
  
Hannah laughed, a tinkling laugh that floated about the room. She seemed to be the picture perfect mother of three. In her early forties with a few gray hairs penetrating her golden ringlets now. Her eyes were still shining brightly and they still set off her hair. No one would ever have guessed that she grew up in a compound for genetically engineered killing machines and busted out killing people to stay out as a preteen.   
  
"Yep. Now you have to do me a favor." Lizz looked up seriously into her mother's smiling eyes.  
  
"Yes Mommy. I'll pick up my room now." And then she turned to go back to her room.  
  
"No." Hannah laughed. "That's not what I was going to ask you to do. I need you to go out and get Taylor and Tanya and then see if Grandpa Logan or Grandpa Zack need anything."  
  
"Okay Mommy!" Lizz cried already changing her course to charge out the door after the twins.  
  
Hannah set about straightening the house and tending to dinner and it wasn't long before she heard the door swing open again.  
  
"Lizz can you come here please?" She called not looking up from the stove as she did. She heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen and a moment later there were strong competant arms encircling her waist.  
  
"Lizz isn't available. Will I do?"  
  
"Oh Aren. You tease!" She giggled wildly, she was still every bit a teenager in personality, except when it came to her children.  
  
"Mmmm smells good." He said gesturing to the stove.  
  
"Would you like a taste?" She asked him.  
  
"Why of course." He answered starting to pick up a fork.  
  
"No." She said gently taking the fork from him and laying it down on the counter again. "See it's still kind of strong so..." She didn't finish the sentence, she just closed the distance between their lips.   
  
"Hmm definitely not bad." He said when they broke off. "A bit sweet, the kiss I mean." He teased.  
  
"Oh it could be sweeter." They kissed again but mid kiss there came a groan. Hannah broke off and glanced around to find Taylor and his friend Michael standing at the door to the kitchen.  
  
"Hello Mike." Aren said heartily letting go of Hannah.  
  
"Hello Mike." Hannah repeated.  
  
"Hello Mr. Manticora. Mrs. Manticora." He added.  
  
"Taylor we'll be having dinner in about ten minutes." Hannah told him.   
  
"Hey Mom can Mike stay for dinner?" He asked excitedly.  
  
Hannah exchanged a glance with Aren and then smiled.  
  
"It's Spring Break of course he can stay." Hannah told them.  
  
"Alright." Both Taylor and Mike exclaimed together giving each other high fives.  
  
"But." Hannah added.  
  
"Oh here it comes." Taylor muttered.  
  
"Only if its okay with his mother. The phone's right over there." Hannah directed Mike to the phone as though he didn't already know.   
  
Taylor and Mike had been best friends for ten years and they had lived there for longer than that. Why Taylor had been born in this house. It was a nice house, large and spacious but it still managed, under Hannah's guiding hand, to stay homey and cozy.  
  
"Mommy!" Lizz said bounding into the kitchen past Taylor and Mike though she had to squeeze through. "Gramps and Gramp want to know when dinner's gonna be on." She announced smiling.  
  
"Tell them to start on in, it's almost on the table." She replied with a motherly smile. Lizz had just turned eight and she was the sweetest little girl. As Lizz bounded out Mike hung up the phone.   
  
"My mom says it's okay but I have to invite Taylor to spend the night." He grinned as he said it, but Hannah knew that it was definitely something that his mother would say.   
  
"It's up to Taylor." Hannah replied.  
  
"Alright!" Taylor and Mike cheered again giving each other high fives.  
  
"But." Hannah added.  
  
"Here it comes." Mike and Taylor muttered together hiding grins.  
  
"You have to set the table." Hannah finished pointing toward the stack of plates and silverware sitting on the counter beside her. Taylor and Mike groaned but picked up the stuff, grabbed another setting and headed for the dining room to set the big table.  
  
As soon as they were gone they were replaced by Tanya and her friend Isobel. Isobel nudged Tanya and Tanya nudged Isobel and then Isobel nudged Tanya again. Finally Tanya stepped forward and spoke.  
  
"Mom I was wondering if Isobel could stay for dinner and spend the night." She breathed. Tanya had always been shy, even around her mother, she was quiet, studious and extremely responsible. Isobel however was always ready for adventure, loud, bold and always into some mischief. Hannah smiled realizing the extreme difference between the two.   
  
'Just like Maia and I.' She mused mentally.  
  
"Hannah earth to Hannah." Aren snapped his fingers in front of her face.  
  
"What? Oh. Of course, if it's okay with Maia." She added.  
  
"We'll go and ask." Tanya agreed grabbing Isobel's hand and yanking her out of the kitchen.   
  
Hannah was so glad that Maia and Isobel had moved into the house next door. They'd moved in five years ago and Hannah and Maia had gotten closer. Plus their daughters were best friends, born on the same day, in the same year, at the same time (well hour anyway).  
  
All in all Hannah had a pretty normal life. Both her fathers lived with her, she had three children, a wonderful husband who shared every detail of her past and her best friend since childhood lived next door. There was only one thing missing, her mother had never returned.   
  
Some nights Hannah lay awake long after Aren had drifted off (which wasn't too unusual since she didn't really need as much sleep anyway) and tried to picture Max in her mind. She had one real picture of her etched in her mind. The dark hair, the deep eyes, the perfectly tanned skin. She looked more like Zack than Max, she definitely saw no resemblance between her and her mother. That made it a little easier to forget, but not much.   
  
Hannah took the food and another place setting out to the table and then called everyone to the table. Soon all the places were filled. Nine people around one table all calling for someone to pass this or that. Everyone talked and laughed and it was almost as if the pulse had never hit.   
  
Well it had been over forty years since it had struck, about fifty or so to be exact. Sure there were a lot of developments but there still weren't any dot com businesses and if you even asked anyone if they had the internet the answer would most likely be no. Hell, no one really even had any computers anymore. Hannah had insisted that they get one, they'd scrounged and scrimped and finally managed to pull in enough money to buy a computer with a printer for the kids to do homework on and for Hannah to write her novels on. She was an accomplished author, which was something hard to become after the pulse hit.   
  
They were just getting desert on the table when Hannah heard a crash in the living room. She motioned for Aren to stay there and then headed out into the living room. There in the dark was a figure. Hannah moved her hand along the wall and flicked on the light ready to fight if the person came after her.   
  
There was no need to fight. For there beside the door, stooping down to sweep up the remains of a small vase was a sixty or so year old Max. Hannah let out a cry. She didn't know if it was a joyous cry, a sad cry, a surprised cry or a cry of sheer pain as all the hurt and happiness swam to the surface of her mind, she just knew that she cried out and then fainted.  
  
She woke to find herself in her bed with Aren staring down at her looking worried. She'd never fainted before and for a moment she couldn't figure out what had happened.   
  
"Lay still." Aren whispered as she tried to sit up. "Taylor's at Mike's, Tanya and Isobel are in her room, Lizz is in bed and your parents are all in the living room talking.  
  
Hannah's mind was swimming and for a moment she was afraid she was going to black out again, thankfully she didn't. She lay there for a moment before sitting up and starting to walk down the hall to the living room. She stopped at the end of the hall and looked into the living room. Logan and Max were on the couch and Zack sat in an armchair across from it. As she entered the room Zack motioned her to another of the armchairs.  
  
"You shouldn't be up." He told her.  
  
"Nonsense I'm fine." But there was none of her usual vibrancy in her voice. She sat and watched Aren lower himself into another chair beside her. She stared across at the couch cushion for a moment before yanking her eyes up to stare into Max's eyes.  
  
  
"Hannah..." Max started.  
  
"Don't talk." Hannah said motioning with her hand as though she were a conductor cutting off the music. "Max. I don't want you here." Hannah said and then she barged on before Max could say anything. "It'll be better for me and my children to not have to deal with your shit. I don't want them to deal with what I've had to deal with."   
  
"Hannah I know I hurt you. But I had to leave. I just couldn't stay here and face all of you after being gone. I thought that now, now that you're a woman you could deal with it better and so could I. Maybe I was wrong, but I don't want to be. Hannah I'd like to try to be a part of your life." Max finished.  
  
"I don't know if I'm ready yet."   
  
"Well hon I'm not getting any younger and neither are you. We have to start sometime. We can't keep procrastinating forever, can we?" Max added lightly, but the words held so much meaning that they almost knocked Hannah over. Her mother wanted in again. Could she handle it? Did she want to handle it? Finally Hannah stared hard into Max's eyes and spoke to Aren.  
  
"Aren dear, why don't we let Mom stay in Taylor's room for the night. We'll have to fix up a better arrangement later of course but for one night you should be able to survive the mess that is Taylor." Hannah stood up and crossed to Max, who also stood up.  
  
They hugged and then Hannah pulled away.  
  
"You have a lot to make up for you know." Hannah told her. "You never did buy me a Barbie Doll."   
  
"And I hope I never have to."   
  
Then they started down the hall toward Taylor's room and Hannah knew somewhere in the back of her mind, or maybe more in her heart, that everything would work out, and maybe, just maybe, things would be normal once more as they should have been all along.  
  
________________________________________________________  
END NOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
Sorry folks that's IT!!!!! I'm letting Hannah go. I'm giving her a burial and all, may she rest in peace. Okay so I'm corny! LEAVE ME ALONE!  
  
I know it's a pretty crappy ending but I didn't want to end it in the first place. Actually I didn't want to write it in the first place.   
  
*Don't stare at me like that... At least hear me out before you let your jaw drop that far toward the floor!*   
  
I was talking to KaiaKyshal in school and she was trying to come up with a story plot for DA, she couldn't think anything up so I suggested something with Max's kid. She rejected it but I started to picture Max's daughter. Hence Hannah was born in my mind... so everyone who likes this story thank KaiaKyshal and read her stories to show your gratitude. And to those of you who don't like this story...   
  
Deal and move on Boos!   
  
Thank you for all your support in this effort of mine to become somewhat known on FF.N!  
  
Love Yas,  
Laila*Lucine  



End file.
